


The Survivalists

by UnluckyAlis



Category: Danny Phantom
Genre: Blogging, Character Death, Chatting & Messaging, Field Trip, Ghost Zone, Identity Reveal, Major Original Character(s), Mild Gore, News Media, Not Phantom Planet Compliant, Original Character(s), Psychological Trauma, Secrets, Senior year, Social Media, Violence, references lots of references, the government lies
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-01-05
Updated: 2017-11-19
Packaged: 2018-05-12 01:19:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 31
Words: 79,723
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5648533
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/UnluckyAlis/pseuds/UnluckyAlis
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Casper High's most notorious senior class had, for once, a successful, peaceful class trip. But things hardly ever go right when Danny Phantom is involved. First, the plane disappeared, then the video was found.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Amity

There are moments in the history of media, where every available eye is turned to one phenomenon, one broadcast, one series. Reasons for watching may vary from mild interest, general concern, or personal involvement. Either way, everyone _knows_ , and everyone _follows_. It had been almost a year ago that the world at large had finally accepted the existence of ghost, after two previous years of strange occurrences in the small city of Amity Park. It had been a slow process, given a firm, final push by one entity’s attempt at a worldwide takeover. This takeover was, thankfully, stopped by the ghostly hero Danny Phantom.

Ever since then, any brand of news involving the infested city was given a little more attention than the averagely viewed material. So it was no surprise when the moment the word _Amity_ was included in one such broadcast, a broadcast that many eyes were already be turned upon, even more people made an effort to see it through.

_“Early this morning, contact was lost with Amity Airlines flight 117. The flight departed from San Francisco, California at six a.m. this morning on its way to Amity Park, Minnesota. An hour before the event occurred, the plane veered from its designated route to Amity Park, and instead proceeded towards the Gulf of Mexico. Numerous attempts to make contact with the plane were met with radio silence. Moments before all signs of the plane vanished, the final attempt at contact received a short reply that workers were able to record. We have the recording here for you all tonight.”_

**_“….crets…. so many… secrets. So many things you don’t know. You’d like to know, wouldn’t you? You’d_ all _like to know. And I think I’ll show you, but not without a little fun first… hehehe. HehehahahaHAAAAA-”_**

_“And the recording cuts off here. Among the known passengers was a senior class from Amity Park’s Casper High, returning from a school trip. The class included the children of many social elites, as well as the son of the world renowned ghost hunters, Maddie and Jack Fenton. This raises the question, are ghosts somehow involved in the disappearance? Military personnel were dispatched earlier this evening to search for the plane, but no evidence of a crash has been found.”_

One newscast, that’s all it took. Now, that’s usually all that it ever takes, but this time there was something different. Something that, despite their unattached worry, aroused a deep curiosity in their minds. After all, how couldn’t it be interesting when ghosts were involved?


	2. The Video

Two days later, the video was found. Nobody knows who found it first, just that within a couple of hours practically the whole world had seen the website. The link appeared at the top of every web search, no matter the topic. Once clicked, it brought the viewer to a nearly empty page, with only a single play button in the center of it.

The video started out as a textured black, then zoomed out to reveal that it was a girl’s raven hair, swaying as she walked down a hotel hallway. Her hair was cut evenly just below her shoulders, with a small pony-tail of shorter cut hair at the back of her head. She wore a purple tank top and black pants. Her cargo boots were surprisingly quiet as she walked down the hall. She stopped abruptly in front of a door and slipped a key card out of her pocket, swiping it through the door’s lock. As she turned, the camera caught her face. Amethyst eyes and dark makeup stood out on her pale skin. The girl didn’t see the camera.

It followed her, and all eyes were drawn to the two beds in the room, both of which were occupied.

So this wasn’t the girl’s room, but why did she have a key card for it?

She moved forwards, going to the right, and dropped onto the bed. The figure beneath the covers groaned.

“Hmm… go away.” The voice was distinctly male. The girl laughed, her voice high and clear.

“No way, Tucker. You guys told me to wake you up at four, so I’m waking you up at four.” The boy, Tucker, groaned again, and the girl reached around his sleeping form. Her actions remained unseen by the spectators, but when she sat back up, there was a PDA in her hands. She turned it on and fiddled with it for a bit, before once again leaning over Tucker. A beeping started to come from the PDA, sounding oddly like a heart monitor. Her whisper was just barely heard over the sound.

“If you don’t get up, something bad is going to happen to Cheryl.” The PDA emitted a flat line, and the African-American boy in the bed abruptly sat up, snatching at the device in the girl’s hands.

“Cheryl!” He cried, cradling the PDA in his arms. “I won’t let mean Sammy hurt you.”

The girl’s eyes narrowed. “Call me that again, and it’ll be more than just your precious PDA that breaks.”

“You let Danny call you that!”

“Yeah, but Danny is… Danny. Everyone else has to call me _Sam_ ,” the girl argued lamely.

“Oh, sure. Danny is Danny. It has nothing to do with the fact that you l-” Before Tucker could finished his sentence, Sam had lunged for his PDA. Tucker rolled away from her hands, but this resulted in him lying flat on his back on the floor. However, to those citizens of Amity Park that had witnessed Tucker’s poor feats of athleticism, the quick movement had been so uncharacteristic and fluid they weren’t sure that it really was Tucker Foley they were watching.

“Okay, okay! I won’t say it. But _you’ve_ gotta wake him up. I absolutely hate doing that.” Tucker shuddered, causing the viewers to question, what could be so bad about waking someone up?

“Baby,” Sam grinned. She slid off of Tucker’s bed and approached the other, her movements significantly slower and almost cautious. Gingerly, she reached a hand towards the mess of black hair that could be seen peeking out from under the covers, but before she could touch it she was suddenly on the floor with a boy sitting on top of her. He looked tense, one open palmed hand hovering threateningly before him, but after a moment, relaxed. The people watching couldn’t get over how impossibly _fast_ he had been.

“Oh, hey Sam,” the boy said.

“Hi, Danny,” Sam grinned. “I see you reflexes haven’t deteriorated in the week we’ve been away.”

“Good to know,” Danny muttered.

“Hi, Danny.” Tucker, who had pulled himself off the floor and was now leaning over his bed, mimicked Sam’s tone and was smiling wickedly at the two still on the floor, PDA in hand. The camera changed views, peeking over Tucker’s shoulder and at the scene he was recording.

Danny looked at Tucker, then back down at Sam. His cheeks immediately reddened and he jumped up, once again impossibly fast, and pulled Sam up with him. She was also blushing as the PDA stopped filming.

“Sorry.”

“You asked me to wake you guys up, and I agreed. I knew what to expect,” Sam reassured the boy. He nodded meekly.

“Come on, Lancer wants everyone to meet downstairs at four-thirty, remember? I’ll see you guys there.” Sam smiled at Danny one more time before leaving the room. The camera stayed focused on the two boys.

“Really, Danny? You wore long sleeves to bed?” Tucker asked. Danny glanced down at his clothes. He was, indeed, wearing a baggy, long sleeved shirt, and long pants as well.

“Of course. With Lancer barging in here yesterday morning, he almost saw my arms. I can’t let that happen again.”

Tucker sighed, shaking his head. “Man, if I were you, I’d totally be showing off. If you did that, even _Paulina_ would be fawning over you.”

“Girls don’t _fawn_ over me,” Danny grumbled. At this point, many girls watching the video smiled in disagreement.

“Yes, dude, they do. So you better ask her out, or else I’ll tell the next girl to approach me, wanting to know if you’re available, that she’s your secret crush and you would love to go out with her.”

Danny froze. “You wouldn’t.”

“I might just have to.” The camera backed away, and somehow ended up on the other side of the door, in the hallway again, without the door actually opening. The screen faded to black as shouts of alarm that could be identified as Tucker’s rang through the hall.

When the video resumed, they were in an airplane. It hovered above the seats, giving the viewers a good look at the passengers. Namely, the student passengers. In typical high school fashion, they were divided into their respective circles of friends. The popular kids easily identified by the boys’ letter jackets, and the girls’ undoubted attractiveness. An overweight man was walking in the aisle, trying to get the students to be quiet. Through one of the windows, it could be seen that the plane was already in the air.

“I can’t believe we had to spend a whole week with Fen _turd_.” The camera zoomed in on the popular kids, who nodded in avid agreement to what a blond jock had said.

“I know, and I had to go a whole week without seeing the ghost boy. I bet he misses me,” a Latina girl said in a dreamy voice.

“Of course he misses you. You were his _first_ Phan, the first person to believe he was good. And he’s saved you so many times!” A blonde girl with orange barrettes in her hair reassured the Latina.

“Yes he has. Did I tell you guys that one time he came and visited me when everyone was in the hospital because of that ghost disease?” the Latina beamed.

“Yeah, Paulina, you’ve told us a lot and it was only two years ago,” an Asian jock sighed.

“I still can’t believe that Goth freak claimed that he was there to see her. If we hadn’t fallen asleep, I’m sure the ghost boy would have whisked me out of there and left Manson to rot.” The Latina sounded so sure of herself that those watching almost agreed with her. The camera zoomed past the popular kids and focused on the same three teens from the beginning, who were sitting behind them. Sam was fuming. Her fists were clenched and she was glaring at Paulina, while Tucker could barely contain his amusement.

“What do you think, Danny? Would Phantom have ‘whisked’ Paulina away?” Tucker asked.

“For some reason, I’m thinking no,” Danny smirked at Tucker and the blond jock, who had overheard their short conversation, turned in his seat.

“Yeah, right, Fen _ton_.” So the black-haired boy was the ghost hunters’ son. A few people wondered if that was the reason for his almost inhuman speed at the beginning. “I doubt you know anything about Phantom. He’s never saved _you._ ”

“Oh, of course not, Dash. You’re right, I know absolutely nothing about Phantom. I guess that next time a ghost attacks, I might as well just jump right in front of it and hope he comes by to save me,” Danny’s eyes widened in mock realization, and the sarcasm in his voice was practically lethal.

“Dude, you already do that,” Tucker said through his laughter. Danny and Sam proceeded to punch him in the shoulder.

“Freaks,” Dash spat, then turned back to his friends.

“Wow, he _is_ the perceptive one,” Danny said snidely.

“Tucker, you need to be careful what you say. While everyone in Amity Park may be completely oblivious, that doesn’t mean we can just let hints slip out whenever we want to,” Sam hissed, leaning over Danny to glare at Tucker.

The people of Amity Park scowled when they heard this. What were they oblivious to? The harshness in the Manson girl’s voice didn’t help, not to mention the fact that the famous Casper High trio was known to be very secretive.

“Relax, Sam. If no one’s figured it out by now, I doubt they ever will. No matter how many hints, accidental or on purpose, we drop. Unless something big happens, they’ll never know,” Tucker reasoned, shrugging his sore shoulder.

“I’d really rather not take that risk,” Danny said, watching the overweight man as he paced the aisle. “Some people are a little too smart.”

“Agreed,” Tucker and Sam chorused, also watching the man. The camera panned over to focus on him. He was bald, with a well-kept goatee, and was wearing the horrifying middle-aged vacation man clothes of a tacky Hawaiian shirt tucked into brightly coloured Bermuda shorts, with socks and sandals. Anyone watching who an ounce of fashion sense had shuddered.

“Okay, people, we still have three hours to go before we get home. The last week has, thankfully, been lacking in our usual taste of action, and I would prefer if we could end this trip on a good note!” The teacher’s voice barely carried the loud conversations of the students, but would have gone ignored anyways. Although three low groans sounded from the general direction of the now favoured trio as their teacher spoke. The camera continued to follow the teacher, but the conversation held by the trio was easily picked up.

“Do you think he jinxed it?”

“Yes,” a high and low voice chorused.

“Does that make him Bad Luck Lancer now?”

“No, Tuck. That title still belongs to you.”

“Aw, come on!”

Before the dark skinned teen could protest more, the seatbelt sign suddenly flashed on, and the teacher quickly slid into his seat. The camera panned over the seats as the plane abruptly started to turn. It was a surprisingly sharp turn, and the nervous flyers clung to their seats as it happened. When the plane levelled out again, passengers started battering the cabin attendants with questions.

“Why did we change course?”

“What happened?”

“Is there something wrong with the plane?”

Before they could even attempt to answer these questions, however, the pilot’s voice echoed throughout the plane.

“Sorry folks for the lack of warning. There’s been a problem at the Amity airport and our flight path has been changed. We will be facing an hour delay as it is necessary for us to land at an intermediate airport for additional fuel while the problem is sorted out. Once again, I apologize for any inconvenience, and hope you enjoy the remainder of your flight.”

Mostly contented sighs were issued from various mouths around the cabin after hearing from the cabin, placated with the explanation. One mouth, however, gasped instead of sighed.

“Danny, what is it?” Sam whispered to the raven-haired teen.

“Echo,” was his short reply.

“Um, dude, what?” Tucker asked.

“I heard an echo, in the captain’s voice,” Danny clarified. His friends exchanged worried glances, and they pressed their heads close together.

“Are you sure?”

“Absolutely. I’m afraid that he’s-”

“Oh, Fen _tina_ ’s afraid, no surprise there,” a snide voice commented from the row in front of them.

“Dash, shut up,” Danny snapped at the blond jock, his voice low and firm. The jock did just that, his jaw snapping shut with the sound of clicking teeth. But after a few seconds the jock, Dash, seemed to realize that he had actually listened to the boy behind him and his eyes flared.

“Don’t tell me what to do, Fenton, or I’m wailing on you the moment we get off this plain,” Dash threatened, backed up by the smirks of his friends.

“Oh, nothing but the same thing that you do to me _every day_ , Dash. I don’t think I could take the spontaneity of it.”

The jock’s faced screwed up at the use of the five syllable word while he tried to remember its meaning.

“I can’t believe _he_ got into an advanced class,” Sam spat at the jock.

“Hey, watch it you Goth b-”

“Dash. _Shut up_.” Danny’s voice was barely a whisper as he cut off Dash’s sentence. Once again, the jock listened. “ _Ignore us._ ”

Dash turned back to face forwards, resuming conversation with his friends.

“Dude…” Tucker breathed, grinning as he witnessed the spectacle. “That was _so_ cool! I didn’t know you could do that.”

“I don’t _like_ doing it,” Danny hissed back. “It’s exactly what Dan would do. But if Dash had finished that sentence, it’s Dan that he’d have to deal with.”

“Danny, calm down,” Sam urged, rubbing Danny’s shoulder. The raven teen glared at Dash a moment longer before conceding. He leaned back in his seat and rubbed his eyes.

“I can’t stand being away from Amity this long.” This surprised those watching. It seemed almost as if he was homesick, but the worry attached with his sentence didn’t fit the diagnosis. Those in Amity that knew the trio at least moderately well were especially surprised. It was hardly a secret that they were outcasts in their school, and the constant targets of bullying. Most people wouldn’t want to return.

“Danny, Elle’s got things handled. As much as I hate to say it, Plasmius probably does too. Have you seen how weird his plans have been lately? I bet he’s doing your job just to get on your good side,” Sam smirked.

“As long as he doesn’t touch Elle,” Danny added before past Tucker out the window. “I’m going to sleep for a bit, wake me if something interesting happens.”

“Dude, you’d be on your feet and out of the plane before we could even touch you if something ‘interesting’ happened,” Tucker laughed while Danny closed his eyes, the corners of his lips twitching.

The screen went black, and when it turned back on, it was focused on a little dark haired girl with soft brown eyes. She clung to a teddy bear backpack and was bouncing happily in her seat. Beside her was a woman she was a near carbon copy of, except for the smattering of freckles narrower nose on the child. How much time had passed since the scene cut out no one could be sure, but they would soon be able to estimate that it had been an hour.

The girl looked up at her mother and pulled on her sleeve.

“Hey, Mom, is Dad going to be waiting for us when we land?” The girl asked.

“Yes, sweetie. He’ll be so happy to see you,” her mother soothed, gentle patting the girl’s curly locks.

“Good, because I’ll be happy to see him.” She squirmed in her seat for a few moments while the spectators wondered what exactly could be so important about her, until she looked out the window. “The sky looks funny.”

“What was that?”

“The sky, it looks kind of funny,” the girl pointed out the window. Her mother leaned over, glancing in the direction her daughter’s small hand was pointed, and her eyes widened. She pressed so hard and frantically on the ‘call’ button that the spectators were sure it was going to break.

“Yes, ma’am, what can I do for you?” A red-haired CA asked as she approached.

“Could you ask the captain what on earth he’s doing?” The woman said quickly, struggling to keep her voice contained.

“Ma’am?”

“The sky is funny,” the young girl repeated, beaming at the CA. The CA blinked in confusion, then looked out the window. In an instant she was hurrying down the aisle. The urgency of the exchange had not been missed by the other passengers, and many were pressing their own faces to the windows. Worried shouts started to rise as the camera zoomed along the aisle, showing the distressed faces in vivid detail. It stopped on the trio who were, in comparison to the others, acting very strangely. Sam and Tucker looked worried, but not as frantic as the others, while Danny seemed utterly calm, if a little put off at what was occurring. The viewers, not yet having seen the cause of the commotion, were growing frustrated, many sarcastically thanked whomever may be watching _them_ when the camera closed in on one of the windows, allowing a full view of what was happening outside.

The plane was headed towards massive, rolling thunderclouds. While that was obviously very worrying and fear inducing, it wasn’t what made it strange. Flashes of green light were emanating from with the clouds, and the sky around them seemed to be tinted green in shade.

“What do you think?” Tucker asked as Danny assessed the world outside the plane.

“Definitely related to the captain.” How on earth that could be possible eluded the viewers, and there chance at finding it out was taken away when the camera abandoned the hushed conversation in favour of following the frantic red-haired CA who was knocking on the cockpit door.

“Sir, the passengers would like to know what’s going on,” the woman said as she rapped her knuckles against the metal. There was no answer, and she attempted to pull the door open herself, but it didn’t budge. “Sir?”

Her knocks grew louder, but she still received no response. “Henry?!”

The CA was visibly afraid now, all but banging on the door. This was not a situation she had been prepared for. She stopped suddenly when she heard a voice speaking from inside, but it didn’t sound like Henry. Instead it sounded manic and high pitched. The CA jumped back in shock when a sharp laughed suddenly reached her ears. In her surprise, she tripped over her own feet and fell to the floor the same moment that the cockpit door suddenly swung open.

The first thing she noticed was that the eerie clouds were almost upon them, the second was that the plane seemed to be tilting downwards. Lastly, it was that the cockpit was empty. With nothing else to do, the CA screamed.

The scream carried back through the cabin, and soon the whole plane was in a panic. Well, the whole plane minus three passengers.

Danny shot to his feet as the plane starting to shake, and he leaned back so as not to tumble through the aisle while the angle of the tilt continued to increase.

“Danny!” Sam and Tucker shouted, but it didn’t sound like a question of his motives, but more like a prompt to action.

“Simulators, on it!” Was Danny’s vague reply, and he shot down the aisle. The other passengers were too scared to question what the teenager was doing, and he was too focused on reaching the cockpit, dodging falling suitcases as he went, to care if they did question him. Danny dove into the pilot’s seat and grabbed the controls, setting to work to level the plane as it was plunged into the clouds. Green lightning flashed all around, illuminating the Fenton boy in short bursts.

Suddenly, and rather quickly, the plane broke through the bottom of the clouds, but it provided little relief as Danny viewed the _ocean_ that they were approaching at an alarming speed. That was hardly the only troubling thing. The video slowed considerably so the viewers could watch as several green bolts of lightning emerged from the clouds. Instead of zooming towards the water, however, they angled towards the plane.

Danny’s eyes widened, almost comically, while the video returned to normal speed.

“Oh, _fek_.”

The bolt hit the plane, taking out its auxiliary power and plunging the passengers into darkness as the whole sky flashed a swirling green for a moment. A strong shock of electricity, channeled through the planes metal exterior and inner workings, jumped from the control panel towards Danny’s chest.

The first people to see the video were sure it ended their, sickened that whoever had orchestrated this, because surely someone had orchestrated it, had simply filmed the passengers’ demise for their own cruel enjoyment. To say they were relieved when the video resumed would be an understatement. To say their relief was short lived would not be.

When life returned to the screen, it showed the outside of the plane. Without actually having seen the aircraft crash, no one could be sure about what happened, but it couldn’t have been good. That was a given. Bits of the plane’s exterior were scattered along the beach, the electricals within burning steadily. A few bodies, not yet determinable to be living or dead, were scattered amongst the sand, some of it stained red. The plane itself, while not being the worst wreckage to ever be found, was still a horrible sight to behold. The cockpit was buried in the trees, smoke billowing out from a break in the window. One of the wings had broken off during its fall and had, apparently having fallen slower than the main body, ended up falling on top of the fuselage, crushing the middle. The imbalance of a missing wing had no doubt caused the plane to spiral, which resulted in the other wing breaking off on impact, and whatever remained intact of the of the fuselage was actually tilted onto its side. One of the engines was gone, and the rancid, black smoke rising from a distance in the trees provided a decent estimation of where it had landed.

The camera, now finished providing and aerial view, zoomed towards the cockpit. For several moments, smoke filled the screen as the camera entered the small space, and when the scene was visible again, it was from a low angle below the smoke. Danny was slumped over the wheel of the plane, dangerously close to slipping and falling against the side of the plane, a gash on his head oozing blood. Despite the break in the window providing an exit for the smoke, the cockpit was clouded by a dark haze of the potentially lethal smoke. To their horror, the viewers realized that the only reason they could even see Danny was because of the source of the smoke. The controls of the plane were alight, and gentle orange tongues were caressing the outstretched right arm of the ghost hunters’ son.

If he wasn’t dead already, he would be soon, either from smoke inhalation or the flames that would soon spread to the rest of his body.

Before the spectators could even gasp, the camera was suddenly in the aisle, slowly making its way down over the fallen suitcases that had burst open. Oddly enough, though, a lot of the seats that had been previously occupied were now empty. The passengers still in the plane were sprawled about in their seats. There were a few bloody noses, head wounds, and awkwardly bent limbs. As the camera neared the middle of the plane, the viewers had just enough time to see a bloodied arm jutting out from the caved in area before they could see the other side.

The camera focused for a moment on the red-headed CA crumpled at the back of the plane, before turning to Sam and Tucker. But those watching were only able to glimpse the two teens before a shuffle echoed around the cabin, and the camera focused on the source of the noise.

The young girl that had first noticed the clouds and the green tinge in the sky—which was now absent—was moving. She was sitting just one row away from the middle of plane, having just barely escaped being crushed to death. At some point during the crash, the girl’s mother must have attempted to protect her daughter, because the woman was lying limply across the girl’s lap despite the restrictions of the seatbelt. One arm was draped protectively over the girl’s shoulders, while the other limply brushed the floor. Her efforts must have been successful, because as the girl moved, only a few bruises were visible. The girl squirmed a moment before groggily opening her eyes.

“Mom?” The girl asked, her quiet voice breaking the eerie silence of the plane. She struggled a few moments until her mother had been pushed up into a sitting position. The woman was, apparently, very light. “Mommy?”

She shook her mother’s shoulder, tears springing to her eyes, and the maternal instincts of any female watching flared at the sight of the poor girl’s sorrow. To their surprise, however, the girl didn’t start to cry. Her eyes were watery, and her lip tremble while a few whimper escaped her, but she did not cry. Instead, she reached for her seatbelt and fumbled with the clasp until it popped open. Free of her restraints, the girl slid from her seat, and turned to her unconscious, and hopefully not deceased, mother.

“It’s okay, I’ll get someone to help,” the girl said, nodding firmly. She stepped into the aisle, and tripped almost immediately from a combination of the plane’s tilt, and the suitcases scattered in the aisle. Her hands shot out to catch her, and while she was a little successful, she ended up tumbling forwards with her wrist twisting beneath her, narrowly missing banging her head against the seat in front of her. She paused for a few seconds, drawing her injured wrist close to her chest and sniffling, before standing and looking towards the back of the plane, then turned to look forwards, where she had not yet seen the damaged area. But before she could see the crushed seats, and the limb protruding from the area, a pale hand slipped around her eyes.

The girl shrieked in surprise, reaching up to prise the hand away from her face, but was stopped when an arm wrapped around her front, and a soft voice whispered in her ear.

“Don’t look.” The camera backed away so those watching could see who had stopped the little girl from viewing the gruesome death, and where surprised to see none other than Danny Fenton. He knelt protectively beside the girl, hunched over and blocking the horrified sight behind them from view. One of his arms was wrapped around her middle, while the other, as they saw previously, covered her eyes. It was that hand that viewers were horrible drawn to. It was horribly burnt.

He kept his pinky and ring finger away from her face. They were a shiny red, dotted with the black of crisply burnt skin, and streaks of white bone were visible. The back of his hand was in a similar state, with the visible bone extending from his pinky to wrist. From there, his arm was a mesh of black and red and pink where skin and muscle had burned until it stopped abruptly just before his elbow. It was a miracle he could even move his arm, not to mention how he wasn’t screaming in pain. His expression, however, deterred any thoughts that he might not have even been able to feel it. Danny’s face was pale, a sheen of sweat upon his forehead, and not just because of the fire he had just escaped from. His brow was furrowed and his eyes were darkened with pain, but he made no sound.

Instead, he stood, walking around the girl, then crouched down in front of her, making sure that her back was to the caved in middle, before removing his hand.

“What’s your name?” Danny asked. The girl didn’t say anything, instead her eyes flitted back and forth between Danny’s arm, and his chest. There was a whole burnt in his shirt, and his skin was adorned with feathery red lines, a few of them blistering. The more knowledgeable viewers recognized it as a Lichtenberg figure, which often appeared on the chests of lightning strike victims.

Although, situational wise, that didn’t make sense. Most of the lightning would have been channeled through the plane, and Danny would have been with a smaller blast more comparable to an electric burn. Not to mention that there was no actual reason for the electricity to have jumped to him in the first place. Not only that, but how was he even awake right now, when he had been unconscious just a few minutes ago and should have been at least a little worse off than the others and out of it longer? Finally, there was one more question, this one probably the most puzzling. How did he get from the cockpit, to the back of the plane, which is divided by the broken wing, without making any noise or actually leaving the plane?

These were the thoughts that raised through the minds of most people watching, except for three individuals, who were simply relieved to see the youngest member of their family was not dead.

“You’re hurt,” the little girl said finally, her voice wavering as she looked around the plane. Before she could glance over her shoulder, Danny raised his uninjured arm and gently turned her head back to him.

“I know I am, and you are too. The others probably are as well and we need to help them. So, I’m Danny, who are you?”

“L-leonor, but my mom calls me Leo,” the girl answered, once again turning to look back and, once again, stopped by Danny.

“Okay, Leo. I need you to do something for me, do you think you could?”

Leo nodded.

“Good. I have two friends at the back of the plane, a boy in a red hat, and a girl wearing black.”

“Like you?”

“Yeah, like me,” Danny smiled encouragingly. “I need you to go back there and try and wake them up for me, while I try and wake up some of the people here. Once they’re awake, shout for me, and stay back there until I come, okay?”

“Okay,” Leo nodded meekly and Danny stood, laying a gentle hand on her back as she started to walk forwards. He paused, probably to make sure she listened, before turning to Leo’s mother. He pressed two fingers to her neck, smiling softly when he felt a pulse, then looked her over for injuries. Whether he found any serious ones or not the viewers weren’t sure, but he opted to leave her there after an unsuccessful bout of trying to wake her. Instead he moved on to the next person, a teenager like him.

After repeating the process as done previously, Danny nudged the boy’s shoulder. Slowly, his eyes opened. At seeing Danny so close, the other boy yelped and immediately tried to jump away. Key word being _tried_. Instead, he was jerked back down by his seatbelt and groaned, clutching his head.

“The hell, Fenton?” The boy groaned. “What happened?”

“You can recognize me, that’s good. The plane crashed,” Danny said shortly. People were starting to notice how his sentences seemed to be frustratingly brief. “What’s the last thing you remember?”

“Besides that crazy CA screaming? She was probably drugged or something. You were running up the plane or something like that,” the boy said, raising more than a few eyebrows at his interesting comment.

“What’s your name?”

“Idiot, it’s Dylan, you know that. Unless someone made you forget, I bet you were drugged too.”

“I’m testing your memory, and no one was drugged. You seem find, only a mild head injury. I need your help,” Danny stepped away, finally giving Dylan some room to breathe.

“You have a mild head injury,” Dylan retorted, before registering what Danny had said. “Help with what?”

“Getting the rest of our class off of this plane. We can’t having it blowing up with everyone inside of it.” It was just barely noticeable, but Danny seemed to be smirking a little as Dylan shot to his feet.

“Oh, man, then we’d really be screwed! Okay, okay, I’ll help,” Dylan nodded. “But I can’t really see you.”

“Check the floor,” Danny replied. 

* * *

Leo looked at Danny’s two unconscious friends, not really sure of how to wake them, since she wasn’t able to wake up her mom. First, she poked Sam in the leg a few times, but yielded no results. After that, she climbed into the middle seat and prodded Tucker. Still, nothing happen. A little annoyed and frustrated, she sat down, glaring at the two, her distress momentarily abandoned.

“Come on, wake up,” Leo huffed, and pinched Tucker. That apparently did the trick, because his eyes flew open and, much like Dylan, he immediately attempted to jump up but couldn’t.

“That’s gonna leave a bruise,” Tucker wheezed, rubbing where the seatbelt had yanked him back down, before seeing Leo next time him.

“Hi.”

“Hey, little girl.”

“Are you Danny’s friend?”

“Yeah, I am.”

“And you’re awake now?”

“It looks like it.”

“Good.” Satisfied, Leo turned to Sam and pinched her in the same way. The result wasn’t as humorous, or at least Tucker didn’t think so, because Sam’s immediate reaction was to lash out and punch Tucker.

“Hey! I didn’t pinch you, she did!” Tucker protested, pointing at Leo who was giggling.

“Oh. Well, I can’t punch her.”

“Danny!” Tucker and Sam jumped as Leo yelled. “They’re awake!”

Sam peered around the seat in front of her, and spotted Danny down the aisle, talking to Dylan. At Leo’s call, he had turned to look at them and grinned when he saw Sam. He said something quickly to their classmate, who nodded and crouched of view, before heading down the aisle towards them.

“Nice, Leo, thanks,” Danny smiled at the girl, then quickly filled Sam and Tucker in on the details. They appeared to take it in stride, hardly fazed at all by what had just occurred.

“There were only four people at the front of the plane, I already got them out. I would have gotten everyone else but…” Danny’s eyes slipped to Leo, who wasn’t smiling anymore. “Anyways, can you guys check your injuries, then help Dylan get the others?”

“What about you?” Sam asked.

“I’m taking Leo here out of the plane,” Danny nodded down at the girl.

“What? No, what about my mom!” Leo’s voice cracked, her eyes once again tearing up.

“I’ll get your mom out and wake her up, she’ll be fine, I promise,” Danny reassured.

Leo fidgeted a moment before agreeing, and Danny picked her up.

“Now, I made you a promise, and you have to promise me something.”

“What?”

“Don’t look anywhere but at me, okay?” Leo nodded slowly.

“Hey, dude, before you go, what did you say to Dylan? I’ve never seen him move so fast!” Tucker exclaimed. The camera quickly changed view for a moment, showing Dylan, now with glasses on his face, struggling to pull someone out of their seat.

“I may have told him the plane was going to blow up.”

“You told the paranoid no-man-left-behind kid that the plane was going to explode?” Tucker clarified, eyes wide.

“Yep,” Danny nodded.

“That’s so un-superhero of you,” Tucker grinned.

“I’m not a superhero.”

“That’s not what the papers say,” Sam chuckled, confusing everyone. This kid was a hero?

“Just… help Dylan while I take Leo,” Danny said, giving Sam a friendly glare. He headed over to one of the emergency exits and opened the door with relative ease, despite his injuries, its own heavy weight, and the angle of the plane.

“Remember what I said?” Danny asked. Leo nodded once more in reply, and the raven teen climbed out onto the side of the plane. The camera followed him as he slid down onto the sand. As they walked, it focused more on the wreckage around them, and specifically on the bodies. The camera zipped over to one of them, staring down at the face of an elderly man, before changing views to look up at Danny and Leo over the man’s unmoving chest. From this distance, Leo’s eyes could just barely be seen flicking away from Danny’s face and towards the body. She gasped and hid her face in Danny’s shoulder.

“Just don’t look,” Danny repeated, running a hand through her hair. He took her to a clear spot a ways away from the wreckage, and about half way between the water and the treeline. The four people Danny mentioned previously were already lined up there, chests thankfully moving up and down.

“I want you to stay here and watch these people, okay? In case they wake up. My friends and I are going to get everyone else out of the plane and bring them here. Don’t move until then,” Danny instructed, setting Leo down beside a young man with extremely light coloured hair.

“I’m going to protect them?” Leo asked, staring at the four unconscious figures.

Danny smiled. “Yeah, you’re going to protect them. Do you know who Danny Phantom is?”

“Uh-huh! I’ve seen him on the news. He’s my favourite part about moving to Amity!” Leo said, and Danny’s grin widened.

“Good, then you’re going to be like him. Keep these people safe while we get the others.” As Danny stood, Leo nodded enthusiastically. She rose to her feet when the older boy walked away, and situated herself above the people’s heads. She stood tall and crossed her arms, mimicking a pose that many Amity Park citizens recognized from their ghost hero’s numerous fights.

Despite the size of the plane, Danny, Sam, Tucker, and Dylan only carried out ten people, Leo’s mother included. The others appeared to be around their own age, and were most likely their classmates. The Asian jock, as well as the Latina and blonde girl were recognized among them. Once they were all out of the plane, there was a moment where no one moved, before Danny spoke.

“Sam and Tucker, you look them over for injuries. Dylan, I want you to focus on waking them up if possible, with Leo’s help of course.”

“Shouldn’t we get farther down the beach, before the plane explodes?” Dylan asked, eyeing the fallen aircraft suspiciously.

“Um, about that, it’s not actually going to explode,” Danny said.

“What?”

“I mean, the pieces here won’t. The engine on this beach isn’t on fire, so there isn’t any risk, and I put out the fire in the cockpit. Everything else will eventually blow out. The engine in the trees somewhere could still technically explode, but it wouldn’t affect us out here,” he explained quickly.

“But what if the explosion rips a tree from its roots and launched it into the sky, and it comes sailing over here and crushes us? We should at least spread out!” Dylan protested.

“…Right. Once everyone is awake, then you can spread out a little.”

“Okay, but what are you going to do?”

“I’m going to, uh,” Danny’s looked briefly at Leo, then at the plane behind them. “Move and bury the bodies.”

There was a tense moment, then Danny turned and left, heading towards the closest of the dead. Sam and Tucker immediately set to work. They didn’t check for any vital signs, having down that already before removing them from the plane. Anyone dead would still be in their seats. Instead, they gently prodded ribs and limbs, checking for breaks, sprains, and open wounds. Truly severe injuries, besides Danny’s arm which the viewers noticed had not yet been treated, were non-existent. Although that could have been because anyone seriously injured had likely died during the crash or while passed out because of lack of treatment. In the end, there were two broken bones—an arm and a leg—various sprains, most people had minor head wounds, and there were some nasty looking gashes that looked worse than they actually were. All in all, the survivors of the crash had fared well. Sam and Tucker had ripped pant legs and shirt sleeves to make bandages, but had oddly enough left the two breaks alone.

Dylan and Leo moved through the gathering of fourteen unconscious people, shaking shoulder and prodding gently until they were roused. Neither one of them provided an explanation for what was going on. Most people were dazed, not yet absorbing their surroundings, but instead taking in their bandages. One man, dressed in a now rumpled and torn suit, stumbled to his feet and started walking around the beach, calling out a name. Dylan and Leo seemed to come to a silent agreement not to touch the two with broken limbs, one of them being a dark skinned girl, and the other a boy with shaggy brown hair.

Instead, Leo wrapped her arms around her mother, crying into her shoulder.

Once everyone else was awake, however, the scene switched out to Danny on the other side of the plane. His head wound had stopped bleeding, and apparently that was enough, because he hadn’t made any attempts to cover it

His arm was bound, but loosely. Not because it had been a poor wrapping job, but rather it looked like he simply didn’t care at the moment. Considering his clothes were all still intact, those watching wondered briefly what he had used to bind his arm. The answer came in the form of a pile. A pile of discarded over-shirts, primarily button ups, which had no doubt been discarded from the bodies laid out before him. Many less logical viewers were near outraged at the fact that the Fenton boy had taken clothes from the dead, even if it had only been top layer shirts. Others, however, understood the boy’s reasoning and applauded his quick thinking. You never know when the extra shirts might come in handy, especially for binding wounds.

Danny was standing just at the edge of the treeline, where the dirt started to replace the sand. There was, luckily, a rather large clear space where he had apparently dug twenty or so graves. The ground around them looked a little scorched, and what he had actually used to dig them, or how he did it so fast, remained lost to the spectators. Even though a decent amount of time must have passed while injuries were being looked over on the other side of the plane, it surely wouldn’t have been long enough for _one_ _teenager_ to dig all those graves. But apparently it was. Many of the graves were already occupied and filled, identified by the slight bulges in the dirt and the large rocks that Danny had marked them with. Once again, speed and time were questioned. There were actually only three bodies not yet in the ground. All three of them were lying on separate slabs of metal, probably parts of the plane’s siding, and covered in some of the precious clothes Danny had taken from the others. It was with a jolt that many people realized these three must have been sitting on the middle of the plane, where the broken wing had crushed it.

Spectators were too shocked by the fact that Danny had actually gotten those bodies out as well, no doubt a horrifying sight, rather than exactly how he had done it. They were forced to watch him pulled the bodies over to the open graves, lower them in with a surprising amount of care, and cover them up before marking the graves. He stood there a moment, head bowed in what was assumed to be mourning.

“In case any of you end up in the GZ, I’m sorry I wasn’t able to save you,” Danny said, eyes raking over the fresh graves. “I’m not really a religious person, and I don’t know if any of you were, but I do know you’re supposed to say something when someone dies. Ashes to ashes and all that stuff.”

He sounded so casual, almost as if this wasn’t the first time he’d done something like this. Suspicions were confirmed with his next sentence.

“I guess I’ll say what I did last time.” Danny rubbed his neck and gave a dark chuckle. “If you see Grim, say hi for me, and I hope I won’t be seeing him again any time soon.”

The raven teen waited a moment longer before setting off back to where the others were. His arrival remained mostly unnoticed by the crowd, except for by Sam and Tucker, who met him beside the two still unconscious people.

“Where?” Danny asked immediately, looking over his two classmates. It was a little odd that he didn’t even ask if they were alive, because for all he knew they could have died instead of simply not having woken up.

“Andy broke his arm, Val her leg,” Tucker explained, pointing to the aforementioned limbs. Neither break broke through the skin, so the viewers were unsure of exactly which limbs were broken, but Danny was apparently sure. He dropped to his knees and immediately reached for Andy’s right arm. At least, those that didn’t personally know Andy assumed that he was the shaggy haired boy.

“Time to make up,” Danny’s words made little sense, but Sam and Tucker apparently understood right away. They immediately moved to stand in a position that blocked Danny from view of the rest of the group. The camera, sadly, did not pan around so that you could see what he was doing, but his words were still heard.

“Transverse fracture. Doesn’t need fusion, but I need to brace and bind it.”

“I took apart the extending baton, pieces are to your left,” Tucker answered, not even looking back.

“Thanks. Hey, aren’t you kind of glad I broke my own arm that one time? You wouldn’t know to do that otherwise,” Danny laughed.

“Not glad that you had to bind it yourself because Walker had us out of commission,” Sam replied with a scowl. “And don’t forget, we’re looking at your injuries once this is done.”

“Damn,” Danny hissed. It looked as if Tucker believed it was because Danny had screwed up somehow, and he turned with a worried expression on his face. It was only when he turned that the camera moved to allow a view of Andy’s arm, now braced with two metal rods and bound with ripped clothing. Danny was in the process of making a sling which he slipped around the other boy’s arm and neck.

“Tuck, have a little faith. That damn was for me,” Danny continued, but he hadn’t even looked up to see Tucker turn.

“Stop doing that, it’s creepy,” Tucker near scolded as Danny shifted over to Valerie.”

“I could hear your feet shifting in the sand. _Dash_ could have heard you.”

“Yeah, sure. That’s what it was,” Tucker scoffed, waving his hand dramatically.

“Just, keeping covering me,” Danny sighed and Tucker turned back around with a smile. Once again, the raven’s actions were hidden.

“Valerie just has a greenstick fracture, not a full break. With any luck, it won’t break fully if she doesn’t do anything too stressful.”

Finally Danny stood up and stepped away, admiring his work. Valerie’s left calf was bound similarly to Andy’s arm. Tucker proceeded to wake them up while Danny and Sam spoke together in hushed tones.

“We need to give them a rundown of what happened,” Sam started.

“Yeah, but we’ve got a problem,” Danny responded.

“What is it?”

“Who do you _not_ see standing there with our class?”

“A… few people actually. Are they…?”

“No, that’s the thing. I only had to bury twenty-six people. None of which were from our class. And last I checked, there were more than six people not in our class on that plane.”

“What do you think happened?”

“The fuselage isn’t whole, so there’s a possibility some people fell out during the crash but…”

“You don’t think that’s it.” Sam’s head snapped up to look at Danny, her amethyst eyes scouring his face as if trying to read his thoughts.

“Exactly. First off, _no one_ should be alive. Surviving a plane crash, the odds are stacked against you. But a lot of us survived, someone wanted us alive.”

“And the missing people?”

“Apparently, someone wanted them to.” Danny was frowning now, staring intently down at his feet, before briefly looking up at the other present survivors. They looked close to panicking. The only reason they hadn’t done so already was because of their slight disorientation. “We need to give them a run down.”

“Obviously, but your injuries come first, so give me your arm,” Sam demanded, thrusting out her hand. Danny hesitated a moment before firmly refusing.

“Danny,” Sam growled.

“ _Sam_ , I’m fine.” Danny shook his head, drawing back and pulling his injured arm away.

“I saw your arm before, Danny. I saw _bone_. You are not. Fine,” Sam continued sternly, her arm still out in front of her.

“Honestly, Sam. For the moment, I’m fine.” Danny’s careful wording was not lost on those watching, and it wasn’t lost on his friend either.

“For the moment?” Sam shifted, lowering her hand to her hip and watching Danny suspiciously.

“It was obviously an emergency, and I may have shut _it_ down,” Danny explained vaguely.

“Danny, you idiot!” Sam shouted, drawing the attention of a few of their classmates, including Tucker, Valerie, and Andy.

“What happened?” Tucker asked, rising from his crouch beside the newly awakened teens.

“He shut it down!” Sam hissed at Tucker, noticing the attention her previous outburst had brought to the duo.

“What, dude? Turn it on, turn it on now!” Tucker was just about panicking, his voice high while surprisingly quiet.

“You guys know that if I do that, it will only cause problems that we can’t deal with right now. Not to mention the amount of smoke I must have inhaled,” Danny defended himself, and only now was it noticeable that he had yet to cough once despite his presence in the dark cloud during the previous scene.

“So then when do you plan on turning it back on? As long as we’re here, I don’t there’s going to be a moment where it won’t cause problems. You can’t just wait until we’re somewhere safe.” A wealthy couple who begrudgingly watched the video at the urging of family friends were proud that the Goth didn’t hesitate to assume their circumstances were dangerous.

“Maybe?” Danny cringed as Sam’s glare deepened.

“Dude, that could kill you!” Tucker cried out. All attention was on the trio now, their classmates and fellow passengers thoroughly interested in the argument they couldn’t understand despite the severity of their situation.

“It’s nothing I haven’t done before!” Danny protested vehemently, earning a few stunned gasps from those present on the beach, and those staring at computer and phone screens.

“Fine! Tucker, let’s just let him deal with it. I just hope we’re rescued soon, or else you’re going to be awake for a long time,” Sam finished, stretching out the word long for emphasis. Finally, the trio noticed that everyone was watching them, although to two seething raven’s refused to break their glaring contest. Witnessing the fight had given people time to get their bearings, and the questions started.

“Where are we?”

“What happened?”

“Aaron, where are you?”

“Where’s Mikey?

“Who cares about that nerd, where’s _Dash_?”

“ _Lord of the Flies_ , people, quiet down!” The bald, middle-aged man shouted. A few people remembered the trio calling him Lancer. “How are your injuries?”

“We already took care of those,” Sam answered for those that had been about to speak.

“The _Goth_ took care of our injuries? You probably made them worse!” Paulina spat.

“Mrs. Sanchez!”

“What does being Goth have to do with first-aid?” Sam threw her arms up, obviously frustrated with the Latina girl.

“You could have infected us with your dark magic!” Paulina offered loudly.

“Paulina, shut up!” Danny suddenly snapped, and silence immediately fell. “You should be thanking Sam. If we didn’t know first aid, you could be dead too.”

“D-dead?” Paulina stuttered. Danny’s words had managed to shock everyone into reality, and they seemed to only just realize that since there were so few of them standing on that beach, some of the passengers were actually dead.

“Where are the bodies?” A red-headed woman, the CA, asked, looking around warily.

“I buried them,” Danny replied shortly, earning a few startled looks from the other survivors.

“D-dash, isn’t here. Does that mean that he…?” The Asian jock swallowed his words, afraid to finish his sentence.

“No one from our class was among the found dead.” Kwan sighed in relief.

“What about my business partner, Aaron?”

Danny looked to the man who had earlier been staggering around the beach. His first impression was, literally grey. The man’s suit was a dark grey, his eyes were a dark grey, and his dark hair was in the process of greying.

“What did he look like?”

“Blue suit, brown hair. He’s a young guy,” the man described hurriedly.

Danny closed his eyes a moment, and everyone knew what his answer would be before he actually said it. “He’s dead.”

The man dropped to his knees, eyes wide in disbelief as he almost started crying. _Almost._

“There were seventy-three people on the plane,” the CA said nervously, looking around the sparsely populated beach.

“As far as I know, twenty-three people died, but-”

“What about the other thirty-one people?” A scrawny ginger teen interrupted. He was squinting slightly, as if he couldn’t see properly, as his eyes jumped around from person to person. “There’s nineteen of us here, twenty-three that are… dead, so what about the others?”

“I don’t know. They’re just, missing.”


	3. Welcome to the Castle

_Welcome to **Amity** **117** chat forum_

**_KingArthur_ has logged in**

**_KingArthur_** _:_         So, hey! Anyone looking at this. I’m the king of this castle, made it talk about the recent plane disappearance and all that stuff since that video was found

**_LordOfMud_ has created an account**

**_LordOfMud:_** Cool

 ** _Fantomo_** **has created an account**

 ** _KingArthur:_**         Welcome to the kingdom!

 ** _KingArthur:_**        Any theories on the situation?

 ** _Fantomo:_**            It’s ghosts

 ** _LordOfMud:_**        Ur sure?

 ** _Fantomo:_** I’m from Amity, I know ghosts. It’s a ghost

 ** _LordOfMud:_**        Ooh, cool. Do ya zee em everyday? All the time? Whatta bout the GB????? IZ HE HOT??????

 ** _Fantomo:_**             Uh…

 ** _KingArthur:_**         Yes to all three

 ** _LordOfMud:_**        You live there too?

 ** _KingArthur:_**         I will never reveal the location of the location of Camelot’s Castle!

**_NoIsY_ has created an account**

**_KingArthur:_**         Welcome to the kingdom!

 ** _NoIsY_** :   I Thought This Was For The Video

 ** _KingArthur:_**         Yes it is, thank you! Any initial thoughts?

 ** _LordOfMud:_**        Sux to be them

 ** _NoIsY:_**    The Army Can Totally Find Them

 ** _LordOfMud:_**        Ya know, Fallout, they don’t alwayz find em

 ** _NoIsY:_**    They Don’t Always Send Such Large Search Parties

 ** _Fantomo_ :            **They’ll find them! The GIW are involved, good ghosts too!!

 ** _KingArthur:_**         Good ghosts?

 ** _Fantomo:_**             Yeah, there’s lots a good ghosts!

 ** _LordOfMud:_**        Hey, do ya know that Fenton kid?

 ** _Fantomo:_**             He’s my cousin

 ** _LordOfMud:_**        Cool. If they’re ever found, tell him he’z cute for me

 ** _Fantomo:_**             O.o

 ** _LordOfMud:_**        He totally iz

 ** _KingArthur:_**         I concur.

 ** _NoIsY:_**    What About That ‘Turning Off’ Thing? What Was That?

 ** _Fantomo:_**             Again, O.o ?

 ** _NoIsY:_**    You Know! With his Injuries!

 ** _LordOfMud:_**        Yeah, yeah! He zhould totally be zcreaming in pain and all that ztuff

 ** _Fantomo:_**             I dunno

 ** _KingArthur:_**         What about that other stuff? Before the crash, that simulation thing, and how did he dig those graves so fast?

 ** _NoIsY:_**    Not To Mention Being So Chill Around Them, And His Little Prayer Thing?

 ** _Fantomo:_** He has a high pain tolerance, he’s actually pretty strong, and he’s really fast?

 ** _LordOfMud:_**        What about the dead people thing?

 ** _Fantomo_** **has logged out**

 ** _LordOfMud:_**        Aw, Fallout, you zcared em off

 ** _NoIsY_** :   Shut Up

 ** _KingArthur:_**         Knights, be calm!

 ** _LordOfMud:_**        Knightz?

 ** _KingArthur_** :        Of the round.

 ** _LordOfMud:_**        We need info on the mizzing people

 ** _NoIsY:_**    Why?

 ** _LordOfMudr:_**      I’m curious

 ** _KingArthur:_**         Knights, your king has an order! Gather information on the missing persons!

 ** _NoIsY:_**    Yes Sire!

**_NoIsY_ has logged out**

**_LordOfMud:_**        This is weird

**_LordOfMud_ has logged out**

**_KingArthur_ has logged out**

**_YourFather_ has created an account**

**_YourFather:_**         I am your father!

 ** _YourFather:_**         Hello?

 ** _YourFather:_**         Oh, shit

**_YourFather has logged out_ **


	4. The Survivalists

The next video didn’t come as quickly as the first. Many people had started to suspect there wouldn’t be a second one once almost a week had gone by. They were relieved when, eight days after the first video was found, a second appeared on the same website. But this brought up a few concerning thoughts. The plane had crashed ten days ago, meaning that the survivors had been on the island for ten days. These videos weren’t live, meaning _this video_ had happened over a week ago. Which begged the question, what was happening now?

The second it was posted, thousands had already clicked play, many people around the world having been set up to receive an alert the moment there was a change on the site. Within five hours, anyone with access to a computer, smartphone, and Wi-Fi had seen the new video.

It started out seemingly seconds after the last video ended. Everyone gathered on the beach stared at Danny with wide eyes and varying expressions. The situation up until that point was so elegantly summed up by a young woman with copper coloured hair.

“Fuck.” She was sitting comfortably in the sand beside a young man, presumably a close friend or even boyfriend based on the way they were leaning against each other. A few heads turned her way, and she blinked seemingly in surprise at the attention. One gaze, specifically from Leo’s mother, was almost scolding. The woman didn’t miss this and titled her head up arrogantly.

“Our plan crashed, people are dead, my arm is bleeding. I think I’m at least allowed to swear once.” In a second, the haughty attitude fell away and a more honest, of mischievous expression, settled on her face. “Swear to Mar, unless the situation calls for it, no profanity shall leave these lips!”

A few people were looking at her like she was crazy, many audience members among that number.

“Rux, hush. Your fangirl is showing. Also, you think every situation calls for swearing,” the man beside her said, running a hand through hair so blond it was almost white.

The Asian jock was the first to recover from the curious exchange. Or at least the first to break the following silence. The trio, despite obviously not knowing the man and woman, hardly seemed fazed.

“Wh-what do we do know?” The jock asked, hand half raised as he caught his classroom habit halfway through his sentence.

“Spread out!” Dylan voiced, pointing to the smoke rising through the trees.

“Dylan, trees will not come falling out of the sky to squish us,” Sam sighed. This brought a few knowing and annoyed expressions onto their classmates. Probably far used to Dylan’s near constant paranoia, his ramblings went ignored.

“We need food.”

“And water! I need to wash this blood out of my hair.”

“What about the ocean?”

“Ew, that salt is so bad!”

“We need water to _drink_.”

“Shelter, don’t forget shelter.”

“What about our luggage?”

“What about the _missing people_?”

People continued to shout into the air, their questions and comments directed at no one in particular.

“ _Gulliver’s Travels_! Everyone, calm down,” Lancer shouted, raising his arms in a demand for silence. “We can split into groups. Divide yourselves up, then choose to either find a nearby source of water, look for food, help with shelter, or help retrieve luggage. Be sure to meet back here before dark.”

The students broke apart and headed off to whatever task they chose. Most went off into the trees. In fact, except for Valerie and the trio, everyone split off into groups of two and left the beach, heading off in different directions. Lancer turned to address the six people that weren’t a part of his class.

“I don’t know what you would want to do, but I guess since my students have taken it upon themselves to find food and water, if you could help with luggage or shelter?”

“Yeah, totally!” The young woman from before, some remembered her being called Rux, jumped to her feet, wincing a little as she put weight on a wrapped ankle. She paused, looking towards the sun for a moment.

“Will, write it,” Rux said with a wide grin, pointing an almost accusing finger at her friend. The man nodded and started dragging a finger across his palm, eyes flitting over Rux’s form as she stood bathed in the golden light. The others decided to leave them for now.

Leonor walked a few hesitant steps behind her mother as they headed towards the plane. The business man whose partner had died seemed to have finally pulled himself together and stumbled after them, the CA close behind, while Danny approached Lancer.

“Uh, Mr. Lancer? Not that we don’t need food and water, but I don’t think that was a really good idea,” Danny said, nodded towards the trees. Although this led the audience to believe that not only did he _think_ it wasn’t a good idea, but he _knew_ that it wasn’t.

“And why would you say that?” Lancer asked, looking at his student.

“We don’t know what kind of stuff is on this island. Predators, poisonous plants, things like that. They could easily get lost or hurt themselves and are more vulnerable in such small groups,” Danny pointed out.

Lancer blinked in surprise, but recovered quickly. “I’m confident in their abilities to stay alive.”

“But we’re not,” Sam muttered, apparently too low for Lancer to hear. Danny just sighed, shaking his head, and walked away with Sam and Tucker following closely behind them.

“Hey, kid!” Danny turned to see Rux grinning at him. Her friend had apparently finished his ‘writing’ and was standing beside her.

“He’s taller than you, don’t call him kid,” Will scolded.

“Shut up, book worm,” she said in a teasing tone, then turned her attention back to Danny. “You seem to know a lot about wilderness survival.”

“How could you know that? I’ve barely said anything,” Danny pointed out.

“You’re attitude, that’s how. And this guy,” Rux jerked her head back towards Will, “reads all kinds of sh-stuff for his writing. He knows a lot too. Said the same thing you did when everyone went wandering off.”

“And didn’t speak up?” Sam interjected, practically glaring at the platinum blond.

“He’s just a little shy,” Rux laughed. “Anyways, have fun. We might as well go help with the luggage.”

The trio watched them go before turning to face the trees.

“Danny?”

“Yeah, Tuck?”

“Our classmates are going to get themselves killed, aren’t they?”

“Oh, probably.”

“So, should we, uh…” Tucker motioned to the trees before letting his hands drop by his side.

“Probably.”

Sam nodded in agreement to whatever unspoken plan they had just form, and the trio split up, disappearing into the brush.

Meanwhile, Valerie still sat in the sand, staring at her braced leg, then around the beach, then at the distinct lack of crutches in the area.

“What the hell am I supposed to do?” 

* * *

The scene changed, and soon the camera was zooming through the trees. Anyone with a shred of knowledge could see right away that the trees on screen didn’t belong together. There were palm trees, evergreens, oak trees. There were a few that had pink flowers, and even some with rainbow coloured streaks on their thin trunks. A decent amount of time must have passed considering how far the camera seemed to be going before it finally settled behind a thin veil of leaves just outside a clearing. There was rustling on the other side, and three figures stepped onto the soft grass. A tall boy was in front, his dark, undercut hair surprisingly neat. He held back a few large leaves that were dangling from the trees above them as two girls slid past him.

Paulina was easily recognized, still managing to look pretty despite her mildly ragged condition. There were a few new tears in her shirt, probably from tree branches that had been a little too grabby, and her hair was in serious need of a good brushing. She was currently running her fingers through her dark locks while the blonde girl behind her did the same.

“Aren’t islands supposed to be, like, _full_ of little rivers and stuff?” Paulina scoffed, eyes raking over the clearing.

“I don’t know, I thought so,” the blonde said.

“In movies, maybe,” the boy behind them continued in a silky voice. “But there’s no guarantee that there’s a fresh source of water here. If the island is big, then maybe. Star, I wouldn’t touch that.”

The blonde stopped, her hand hovering inches away from a three leafed plant that many viewers recognized. She, apparently, did not.

“Why?” Star asked.

“It’s poison ivy.”

Star shrieked and stumbled back, Paulina doing the same. “That is _so_ bad for good skin.”

The boy just rolled his eyes and strode past them.

“Thanks, Jon,” Star smiled as the boy passed and leaned up, giving him a kiss on the cheek. Jon blushed, but kept walking, while the two girls snickered, devious smiles on their faces. Many people felt a pang of pity towards the boy that was obviously being toyed with.

“If we can’t find water, we should probably try and find some food,” Jon suggested, looking up into the trees.

“Good idea, I’m _starving_ ,” Paulina whined, and Star nodded in agreement. “If Dash were here, he probably would have found tons of food by now.”

“Yeah, totally,” Star said absently, following Jon’s gaze. “Are those…?”

“Yeah, I think so.”

“How do we get them down?”

“You climb the tree, obviously.” Three heads whipped around to look at the Goth that had just made herself visible across from them.

“Ugh, freak, go away before you curse us,” Paulina hissed.

“Great. Danny just _had_ to send me to your group,” Sam muttered, but only those watching could hear her.

“You mentioned climbing?” Jon interrupted what was bound to be an impending fight, and Sam nodded. She jerked her head up towards the trees where Star and Jon had been looking, and the viewers were finally given a brief shot of a banana tree of all things. Oddly enough there was only one bunch of bananas, but it was still food.

“That’s sort of how people get bananas down. Star, can’t you climb? You’re usually top of the pyramid,” Sam asked. It was assumed that Sam was referring to a pyramid in cheerleading.

“That’s people, not a tree,” Star scoffed, but she examined the subject of interest closely. “But I might be able to.”

She hesitated, then stepped forwards. The tree was leaning, so the climb would be a little easier than if it were completely upright, but she was still a little unsure. In the end, Sam was apparently too impatient for the girl to make up her mind.

“Jon, give me a boost,” Sam ordered, and the dark-haired boy complied immediately. Those in Amity Park familiar with the ‘freak trio’ understood that, while they were outcasts, Sam wasn’t someone you disobeyed. Jon knelt down next to the tree, lacing his fingers together, and Sam pressed a booted foot into the provided step. She jumped up, assisted by Jon lifting his hands with her, and scrambled up the tree a few feet before gravity starting to drag her down. Sam wrapped one arm around the tree, braced her feet against its trunk, and finished the climb up with ease.

“Paulina, catch,” Sam called down as she yanked the bunch from the trees grasp. She tossed the bananas down towards the Latina, who squealed in surprise, fell back onto the grass and held her arms up in front of her face. The bananas bounced off of them before thumping softly into the grass.

“Good thing Jon’s the basketball player and not you,” Sam smirked as she dropped out of the tree. Paulina, meanwhile, started to shout in outraged Spanish. Those fluent in the language easily heard the unsavory terms laced into her rant.

“Paulina, be quiet before you draw every predator in the area to us,” Sam snapped. Paulina’s rapid Spanish died with a squeak. Jon’s muffled laugh echoed around the clearing, and he barely managed to cover the noise with a question.

“Sam, why aren’t you with Danny and Tucker?”

“Because you’re all idiots,” Sam stated clearly, managing to sound only mildly annoyed. “It’s my job to make sure you don’t get yourselves killed.”

“Pff, _perra_ , if anyone is going to get us killed, it’s you,” Paulina hissed. A few spectators frowned at Paulina’s word choice, but before they could dwell on it the camera focused on Sam’s face. Horror, and surprisingly guilt flashed in her eyes at Paulina’s comment, and the Goth stormed forwards.

“You can complain about my ‘voodoo’ magic all you want, Paulina, but I would _never_ do something that could get someone killed, not even you,” Sam spat, leaning down over the Latina. “We haven’t worked out asses off keeping idiots like you alive just to off you ourselves.”

“Keeping us alive?” Jon asked, blinking at Sam.

“And we?” Star added. Sam’s mouth snapped shut, her teeth clacking together. Apparently she had let something slip that she wasn’t supposed to, and it did raise many questions. Who was saving lives with Sam, and when had this happened?

“Come on, we should find more food,” Sam said as she straightened up. She stalked out of the clearing, and the others shared a confused look before following, with Paulina gathering the bananas into her arms.

* * *

The camera cut away, once again flying through the trees, until the beach was just visible through the trees. It snuck up behind a pair of students, a boy recognized as the Asian jock, and a small girl with light hair. They were walking several feet apart, occasionally glancing towards the beach. They shuffled along in silence as the camera slowly circled them, showing brown and grey eyes that almost refused to meet. Despite the danger of the whole situation, the viewers were a little bored just watching the two of them walk. They wanted to see something happen. Finally, the girl spoke up.

“Uh, Kwan?” She tilted her head slightly, glancing at the jock from the corner of her eye.

“Yeah?”

“Thanks, for coming with me,” she finished, scuffing her sandal against a fallen tree branch.

“Uh, yeah. No problem, Marie. I mean, someone had to go with you,” Kwan shrugged. The two were obviously uncomfortable together, and many assumed it was because Kwan was obviously higher up in their high school hierarchy, which meant they weren’t the type of people to spend lots of time together.

“So, you said to walk close to the beach, why?” Marie continued, attempting to hold up a conversation.

“Well, streams and rivers need outlets, right? If we are on an island, then they’ll have to run out into the ocean. I think, I’m not really sure.”

“That’s actually kinda smart,” Marie said, the surprise evident in her soft voice.

“I know a lot about nature and stuff,” Kwan explained, smiling happily. “I’m hoping to be a ranger, after graduation.”

“That’s cool,” Marie mumbled, and she started fiddling with the hem of her shirt. They fell silent again, the only sound as they moved through the forest being their shoes sifting through the dirt and sand, and the occasional snap of a twig. Kwan looked like he was about to say something when a string of curses spilled from the trees behind them. Both teens jumped in surprise as Tucker came stumbling out from behind a tree, a rather large branch dragging behind him.

“No, no, no!” Tucker shouted as the branch snagged against a tree trunk, sending him sprawling to the ground. “Ow.”

“Tucker, are you okay?” Kwan asked.

“Hey, I found you guys! Awesome. Although it would have much faster if I had Danny’s sense of direction.” Tucker muttered the last part as he freed himself from the branch that had been snagged on his boot laces.

“You were looking for us?”

“Yeah. Since the groups were kind of small and everything, we decided to split up and help you guys instead of going off on our own.” No one needed further explanation to realize that ‘we’ meant Tucker, Sam, and Danny. “So, what are you guys looking for?”

“Water,” Marie answered. “Kwan said to look for a run off into the ocean.”

“Good idea, I think. Danny’s really the one that knows all this stuff, but I think that’s right,” Tucker grin and climbed to his feet, brushing off his pant legs. “This is a good chance for exploration too.”

“We never really thought of that,” Kwan pondered as he and Marie shared a glance. Suddenly, Tucker started laughing.”

“What?” Marie asked, still fiddling with her shirt.

“It’s just, we have the quietest A-lister.” Tucker pointed to Kwan.

“The quietest regular.” Now he pointed to Marie.

“And the loudest geek,” Tucker chuckled again, patting his chest. “Now if _Danny_ were here, then it would be complete.”

“But, isn’t Sam the quietest?” Kwan asked, face scrunched in confusion. It was a well-known fact in Amity Park that among the trio, Sam spoke the least.

“Sam, are you kidding? She gives me a run for my money. No way, Danny’s the one who barely speaks. He’s more the dark and brooding type, and I’m surprised he’s not a Goth himself,” Tucker finally stifled his laughter, but only received more confused looks.

“Fenton is dark and brooding?” Kwan raised an eyebrow.

“He does kind of look Goth, but I thought that was because of Sam,” Marie added.

“The switch to darker clothes, maybe. But in case you haven’t noticed, all three of us do that.” Tucker motioned to his own attire, a dark grey t-shirt, and dark green cargo pants. “It was kind of funny when it first started. Sam was mad that Danny was taking her ‘thing’. But got a little ridiculous when his pessimism showed through. She’s more optimistic than him, most days.”

It was a little hard to believe, that the boy they had been focusing so intently upon was a pessimist. He didn’t _seem_ like it. Of course, no one watching had considered he could be Goth either, until Tucker mentioned it. Now, though, they realized that he had worn fairly dark clothes and seemed rather pale.

“Anyways, we’re looking for water?” Tucker asked.

“Uh, yeah,” Marie nodded. She and Kwan composed themselves, no doubt a little startled over the sudden revelations about their classmates. Tucker chatted amicably while they fell into silence, following the techno-geek farther along the treeline.

* * *

Pity was the immediate reaction as the viewers looked upon the next group they would be observing, and they were glad that Danny would more than likely be joining them. Dylan was at the head of the group, jumping at every unexpected sound and constantly shushing his companions. Their attempts to stay quiet were unsuccessful, but that was to be expected. A scrawny, red-haired boy was stumbling through the underbrush, hands groping the trees in an attempt to guide himself. The other boy, recognized by his makeshift splint and sling as Andy, tried to guide the skinnier teen, but there was only so much he could do when one of his arms was immobile.

“Why the hell don’t you have your glasses?” Andy asked, pulling his charge around a large rock.

“They broke in the crash,” the boy explained. “I didn’t have a chance to get my other pair.”

They both looked to the boy leading them, and it was suspected that Dylan had dragged Andy and the other after him.

“It might be better if we just head back,” Andy suggested.

“But we need food! If we don’t find food, we could starve, and then we’d have no chance of finding the others, and then we’ll all die and no one will ever know,” Dylan ranted, spinning around to face them and, subsequently, the camera.

“Dylan, there are two other groups out here looking for food and water. You know why we’re here? We’re rejects, and they don’t expect us to find anything anyways. Let’s just go back,” Andy sighed. “Mikey can’t see anything, my arm is killing me, and _you_ are freaking out.”

“Just a little farther? We might find something, if predators don’t find us first,” Dylan shuddered, his wild imagination no doubt playing various devastating situations out before his mind. Andy and Mikey nodded slowly, which was probably a wise decision. Those outside of Amity Park, and even a lot of people in it, may not have known much, if anything, about Dylan. But they could tell that agreeing to his whim for a few minutes longer would be a lot easier than sitting there and arguing. They set off once again, none of them really too focused on looking for food. Andy was intent on helping Mikey along, while refraining from jostling his injured arm, and Dylan was keeping a wary eye out for any signs of danger.

The camera panned left a moment, following Dylan’s gaze into the trees, before once again facing forwards. Both the teen on screen, and practically everyone watching from around the world jumped, shrieked, squeaked, or all out screamed and the sudden appearance of clear blue eyes and raven hair. Dylan sloppily threw up a fist, which was easily caught by Danny.

“Please tell me this wasn’t your first choice in grouping,” Danny sighed, looking over the motley crew.

“What if it was?” Andy asked defensively.

“Then I’m ashamed to be called a nerd,” Danny said good-naturedly. Once again the spectators were hard-pressed to believe this boy was so pessimistic.

“Hey, it’s not like we-”

“Andy, _just_ _relax_ ,” Danny soothed. Anyone that knew anything about typical human behaviour knew that being told to relax usually did the opposite. But when Danny spoke in the same quiet voice he had used to tell Dash to shut up, Andy did just as he was told.

“I wasn’t insulting you guys, not really at least. I just think it’s a little obvious that you three are the worst to be grouped together in terms of strengths and weaknesses.

“Why’s that?”

“No offense to you guys when I say this, because everyone is stronger in different areas, but really. Mikey is severely lacking in physical strength, not to mention that you don’t have any glasses on, and you have arthritis.” Mikey blushed and absently rubbed his knuckles.

“Dylan may be a bit of a bigger guy, but not a lot of that is muscle, and he’s pretty skittish.” Dylan didn’t look offended in the slightest, he just started muttering about how he would last the longest if they all starved, because he had more ‘potential energy’.

“ _And_ , with your arm in its current state, there isn’t a lot you can do out here the woods, even if you as strong as the jocks.” Danny’s words were calculated and honest, as if he had already thought about better groupings several times over. In fact, he probably had.

“What about you?” Andy asked, and the viewers found themselves leaning closer in their seats.

“There’s actually a lot of things, although most of them don’t apply to this situation. At the moment I’d say my problem is that I’m a little restrained in terms of my full potential,” Danny cast an amused glance at Dylan, “in our current circumstances.”

“Huh.” Andy leaned back, eyes roaming over Danny’s figure with a curious glint. “Okay, good. I’m convinced. It would kind of suck if I were mad at you anyways.”

This time Danny stepped back, a little surprised, and his eyes widened before he laughed. “It probably would, wouldn’t it?”

“Hey, Danny. You didn’t find any, you know, _things_ on your way here, did you?” Dylan asked, peering nervously over the taller teens shoulder.

“No, Dylan. I didn’t find any _things_ , or monsters, or predators, or people while I was looking for you,” Danny said calmly.

“You were looking for _us_?” Mikey asked, sounding genuinely surprised that someone had bothered with them.

“Yeah, of course I was. I had to make sure you were okay, didn’t I?”

“Not really,” Mikey mumbled, but he was smiling in gratitude.

“Anyways, I actually passed you guys a couple hours ago—” Had the video really skipped that much time? “—and did some scouting up ahead. I didn’t find any food, or water, and we should probably be heading back. It’ll be close to dark by the time we get back to the beach.”

“But that’s when the nocturnal animals come out!” Dylan yelped.

“Yeah, okay. But, not to be a killjoy or whatever, what way is it back to the plane?” Andy asked. He, Mikey, and Dylan turned their heads up to the trees, as if the leaves could give them some sign of the way they had come, seeing as none of them had kept track of their path. Without missing a beat, Danny provided the answer for them.

“The plane is to the east.”

“Uh…”

“That way,” Danny pointed to his right.

“Oh, cool,” Andy nodded, and he started to guide Mikey that way, but was stopped by Danny’s hand.

“Let’s just make this a whole lot easier,” Danny said, and he crouched down in front of the smaller boy. Mikey’s face turned red at the prospect of having to be carried, but he complied and climbed onto Danny’s back.

“Come on, let’s go.” The group disappeared into the trees, although the camera lingered just long enough to hear Danny shout. “Dylan, it’s a crow, not a panther!”

* * *

Back on the beach, the majority of the luggage not already scattered across the beach had been dragged out onto the sand and lay in tow haphazard, but clearly distinguishable piles. The first pile was suitcases, all carry on sized. Their plane had been small, seeing as only seventy-three people had been onboard, and all larger luggage had been transported to Amity in a different plane. Luckily, a lot of people had seemed to rely on carry on. The second pile was, while obviously still being carry on since that was the only kind of bag they had, appeared to be bags of things other than clothes. There were backpacks, briefcases, and computer bags, all of which were probably full of less than necessary items. But still, one never knew what useful thing they could find.

Valerie sat next to one of these piles, her splinted leg straight out against the sand, while she rummaged through a few suitcases. It was a simple, monotonous task. Leo would bring her a back, the dark-skinned girl would rummage through its contents, take out anything that wasn’t clothes or personal items, and place them in a steadily filling bag beside her. When done, she would push the suitcase aside, and Leo would bring her another. Leo’s mother was attempting to organize the piles, with a little assistance from Lancer. The businessman and the CA were nowhere in sight, but shuffling could be heard from inside the fuselage.

A short distance away, Rux and Will were struggling to move the smaller pieces of the planes outer hull. The pieces seemed heavy despite their short size, and the possible couple had only made two successful lean-tos.

“And pivot!” Rux shouted as she and Will managed to hoist a third sheet of metal onto its edge. “Pivot!”

Will dragged his side through the sand, pulled the sheet just slightly closer to their completed structures.

“Pivot!” Rux pulled this time, and she shouted again. Judging by the annoyed expression on Valerie’s face, and Leo’s sporadic giggles, this repeating of ‘pivot’ and pull had been continuing for some time now. When the sheet was lined up with the others, both young adults stepped aside and let it drop to the sand with a muffled thumb, the golden grains flying up and spraying around their feet. Leo giggled again as some of the sand settled into her hair, and she started shaking her head.

“Oops, sorry sweetie,” Rux called, skipping over to the young girl. She helped Leo shake out all of the sand and settled her hair back in place. “Hey, aren’t those bags heavy?”

“Nuh-uh! If they could carry people out of the plane, I can carry the bags,” Leo grinned, dragging a suitcase that did appear to be particularly heavy towards Valerie.

“They?”

“Danny and his friends! They got everyone out,” Leo clarified.

“Who, that pipsqueak?” Rux blink.

“He’s _taller_ than you!” Will reminded in a singsong voice, but Rux just ignored him.

“Yeah. He carried me out, and he carried my mommy out, and he promised we would be fine, and we are,” Leo beamed, finally dropping her cargo next to Valerie.

“Rux, what do you think his power level is?” Will asked as he sifted through the bits of plane, looking for more girder-like pieces to hold up the sheet they had just moved.

Rux grinned at the opportunity Will had provided. “It’s over nine thousand!”

“You’re a nerd,” Valerie stated, not as an insult, just as an observed fact.

“I think I’m technically a geek,” Rux clarified. “Nerds are academic, geeks are, well, me.”

“I didn’t really know there was a difference,” Valerie shrugged.

“There is, a _huge_ difference! Say ‘the force is’ to a nerd, and they’ll probably answer with something like, equal to this, or that. Or some kind of math sounding thing.”

“Very eloquent,” Will muttered.

“Say it to a _geek_ , and we’ll respond ‘strong in this one’!” Rux declared happily.

“Right. I probably won’t remember that,” Valerie shrugged, but Rux didn’t seem to mind either way. Instead, the older girl was staring around the beach, honey-coloured eyes skipping over the treeline.

“How do you feel about bonfires?” Rux suddenly asked, a smirk playing on her lips.

“What?” Valerie paused, a comb and pack of Band-Aids in her hand.

“They’re lots of fun!” Leo squealed in excitement. “Right, Mommy?”

Leo’s mother, who had been in a bit of a stupor, blinked in surprise at being address, before a warm smile melted on her face. “Of course. We used to have them all the time at Grandpa’s.”

Leo grinned, nodding quickly, and looked to Valerie. “Do you like them?”

“I guess so. I never really had them that often,” Valerie answered, shuffling her uninjured foot in the sand.

“Good, because we’re having one tonight!” Rux declared. “If we’re going to be stuck on an island together, I personally think I’d like to get to know you all. Sir William!”

“Lady Rux!” Will answered immediately.

“To the trees!” The two rather strange young adults marched off into the foliage, disappearing from view.

“They’re… interesting,” Valeria said after a moment.

“Just a bit,” Leo’s mother nodded in agreement, while three teens came walking down the beach.

“Hella.” Three heads swivelled in surprise to look at Lancer, who had uttered the single word. “I’ve come to understand that’s what you hip and cool kids say these days?”

Leo was giggling again, while Valerie just shook her head, and teenager’s all around the world groaned.

“You and Technus could start a club,” Tucker grinned.

“Who’s Technus?” The camera panned around, revealing the businessman who had apparently emerged from the plane. He had a rather large collection of small pretzel bags in his hands.

“So you aren’t from Amity,” Kwan stated, looking hungrily at the pretzels.

“No. My business partner and I were on our way there for a meeting.” There was a slight crack in his voice over the mention of his business partner, but otherwise the man remained stoic.

“You had a meeting in the most ectoplasmically active city in the whole world, and you didn’t research?” Valerie asked.

“We did a little,” the man defended himself. “We bought ourselves some protective gear as well, but I guess that’s all gone now.”

“Dalv Tech, or Fenton Works?”

“Fenton.”

“Good.” Tucker and Valerie said in unison.

“Wait, Danny’s parents sell ghost hunting gear?” Kwan looked between Tucker and Valerie.

“Yeah. They can’t always rely on government loans for their research, and since the existence of ghosts became public knowledge last year, lots of people have actually been scrambling to protect themselves. Even if ghosts are really only active in Amity,” Tucker explained.

“Save it for the bonfire,” Valerie interrupted before Tucker could continue. The dark-skinned boy gave her a questioning look, but Valerie just shook her head. Tucker, Kwan, and Marie ended up helping the others sort through the bags while waiting for the remaining two groups to return. Sam and the remaining A-listers were next. Jon immediately went off to help Rux and Will gather wood, while Paulina sneered at everyone else’s empty hands as she showed of the bunch of bananas that she had in no way helped find. She and Star immediately found their smaller carry-on bags amongst the piles and set to work fixing their hair as best as they could with nothing but a comb and hairbrush.

They received a few spiteful looks from the others, but ignored calls to help, which in turn earned many spiteful looks from the viewers. Although the girls obviously couldn’t see them

The sun was hanging just above the horizon when finally Danny broke through the trees with Mikey on his back, Andy and Dylan stumbling out behind him.

“Th-thanks,” Mikey muttered as he slid off the taller boy’s back. Danny just nodded, while Andy seemingly took over as guide and helped Mikey search for his glasses.

“What if a big waves come and washes everything away?” Dylan asked, eying the piles of luggage.

“Then we’re screwed,” Andy called from the middle of a pile. He dragged a bag out and held it up as best as he could with one arm. “This the one?”

Mikey nodded as they started digging through it.

“Kid, get over here!” Rux called from the slowly growing pile of wood, and Danny headed over to her with the camera following closely behind him.

“Yeah?”

“You’re helping us gather wood,” Rux ordered. “We’re having a bonfire!”

“Okay, but how’re we going to light it?” Danny shrugged. The viewers were shocked, to say the least, at the quick change in Danny’s demeanor now that he was part of a larger group. Seeing him now, they understood the whole ‘quietest of the trio’ explanation Tucker had provided.

“Magic,” Rux grinned mystically, waving her hands in the air.

“Or, a lighter.” Danny plunged his hand into one of his pockets and removed a recognizable metal rectangle.

“Or a lighter,” Rux agreed. “Now, come on Mr. Ghost Getter.”

It didn’t take much thought to realize that Rux’s new nickname was because of Danny’s ghost hunting parentage, although it was a little confusing when he visibly flinched and cringed at the poorly chosen name. Sam and Tucker, meanwhile, burst out laughing from their places amongst the scattered bags.

“Oh, shut up,” Danny snapped, which only made his friends laugh harder.

* * *

The scene changed slightly, showing the plane’s wreckage from a distant. The sky was noticeably darker, the sun just barely peeking up above the distant waves. There were three large shadows on the beach. The first two were the piles of luggage, and the third was much smaller, but still fairly large. Smaller shadows were gathered around it. The camera zoomed in, revealing the nineteen known crash survivors standing in a loose circle around the pile of wood. While the pile was relatively low, the large logs they had somehow managed to gather were at a steep angle. There was a soft glow emanating from within the wood on one half of the fire. The other side was still dark, but a pair of legs could be seen sticking out from underneath. Sam and Tucker were crouching next to them, Sam’s hand gently brushing against the ankle closest to her.

“Come on, Fenton, hurry up,” Jon drawled. He was kicking at an abandoned banana peel, several of which were tossed around the area, along with a few pretzel wrapper bags. The group had eaten at some point during the time skip, and several parents sighed in relief.

“You wanna light it?” Sam snapped, looking back at the boy she had peacefully worked with just a few hours ago.

“Not really.”

“You’d probably just burn your eyebrows off. Hey, Danny! Don’t burn your eyebrows off!” Dylan called. Danny didn’t reply, just kicked his feet into the sand. Sam and Tucker grasped the ankle opposite them and pulled. As he slid out, Danny somehow managed to roll over so that he ended up on his back rather than his stomach as the dry grass flared up behind him.

“Everything is just a little damp from the storm, so it’ll take a while to really get going,” Danny answered everyone’s unasked questions as he sat up, shaking sand and grass out of his hair. Without saying anything, he walked away with Sam and Tucker close behind. The others watched a moment, then settled themselves down on the sand.

“So, you wanted to get to know us?” Valerie asked, breaking the awkward silence and directing attention towards Rux and Will.

“Yeah, totally! I mean, I can’t call _all_ of you kid. That title’s already reserved,” Rux nodded her head towards the trio, who were crouching by the treeline. “So, names, I need names.”

“Rux, manners,” Will said, nudging the exuberant girl next to him.

“Hmm, fine. Ruxandera Williams, but I’m only at the kid’s service,” Rux smiled slyly.

“That’s inappropriate, there’s a real kid here,” Will scolded. “And I’m William Ruxe.”

A heavy silence fell for a few moments, and some viewers could have sworn they heard a cricket, before the person sitting closest to them spoke up.

“Your names…” Star started.

“Yes, they match!” Rux grinned, flopping back on the sand.

“It was fate,” Will nodded solemnly.

“The will of the god of best friends!”

“Uh-huh,” Star nodded slowly.

“So, who are you?” Rux sat back up and stared intently at the blonde.

“Star.”

“And that’s your real name?”

“Obviously not, but that doesn’t really matter.”

“But I want to know! I can’t _know_ you if I don’t know your _name_ ,” Rux huffed, pouting.

“Jenna Delisle.” Star answered. She glared around the circle, as if daring her classmates to say something about her name.

“Cool, you, pretty girl, you’re next!” Rux pointed to Paulina.

“Paulina Sanchez, most popular and beautiful girl at Casper High. And the richest,” the Latina stated proudly, tilting her chin up. There was a sharp cough behind her that sounded oddly like the word ‘second’ as the trio rejoined the group. They started laying out what looked like leaves and twigs around the fire, which was picking up nicely, as the introduction continued.

“I’m Kwan.”

“Valerie.”

“Not that it really matters to you, but I’m Andy.”

“Andy, this may not be school, but I’m still your teacher, and I’d like for you to be polite. I’m Edward Lancer.”

“Uh, hi, I’m Mikey.”

“Jonathon, but just call me Jon.”

“… Marie.”

“Dylan.”

“My name is Katherine, and this is my daughter Leonor,” Leo’s mother hummed, pulling her fingers through her drowsy daughter’s hair.

“Leo,” the little girl mumbled.

“You probably all know this, but I was your cabin attendant, Casey,” the CA said. She had her arms wrapped tightly around herself and smiled weakly at the group.

“I prefer Grayson,” said the businessman. He ignored Rux’s demanding glare and looked at the trio still standing by the fire as a way of passing off the attention.

“I’m Tucker Foley, as in TF, as in Too Fine,” Tucker said smoothly, but a chorus of groans rose from his classmates. “The scary one is Sam, and by process of elimination, that makes this one Danny.”

Sam punched Tucker lightly on the shoulder, but Danny was ignoring them both. In fact, he was ignoring everyone. Or he at least hadn’t heard them. Instead he was staring out over the ocean, eyes narrowed. His hand suddenly shot out, fingers closing around a dark-skinned wrist as Tucker attempted to poke Danny’s shoulder.

“Dude, what’s wrong?” Tucker asked. The others in the group were watching Danny as well, and waited with baited breath for the raven to respond.

“Pariah cell.” Danny’s words were short and clipped. Sam and Tucker shared a troubled glance as Danny released his friend’s wrist and started walking down the beach.

“Um, shouldn’t someone follow him? In case something happens,” Casey asked.

“No. Danny’ll be fine. So, Ruxandera, getting to know us. What kind of things were you interested in hearing?” Tucker sat down in an empty spot in the circle, Sam dropping beside him. Both shifted their attention to copper haired girl.

“I have no idea,” Rux laughed. “Whatever you want to tell, I guess. Oh! Wait, I know. Someone tell us a secret!”

The high school students shared looks, some reluctant, and some a little skeptical. It was obvious that no one wanted to share.

“What about Fenton?” Star suggested.

“That _loser_? What kind of secrets would he have?” Paulina scoffed. Only the viewers noticed the slight twitches given off by Sam and Tucker.

“Well, there was on the plane,” Mikey said slowly. He shrunk back when everyone turned to look at him and adjusted his glasses nervously.

“Um, I think I saw it too,” Marie added. Rux was staring at the two expectantly.

“When the crash started, he went to the cockpit, shouted something about a simulation. Tucker, do you know what that was?” Sam and Tucker, who had been having a hushed conversation, looked up suddenly. They seemed to share a silent conversation for a few seconds before responding.

“Danny used to do a lot of online simulations, like astronaut stuff. He got really into it for a while and did all sorts of thing like planes, trains, and jets. Stuff like that,” Tucker shrugged.

“So he was trying to fly the plane?” Kwan asked, looking immensely confused.

“Yeah,” Sam nodded, and her response was met with a clamour of noise as everyone started shouting out questions. Over the noise, a soft uttering wafted over the beach. A few people thought it was the eff word, but some distinctly recognized an ‘e’ instead of ‘u’ in the middle of the word. Fek, the same word that Danny had muttered before the crash.

While most of the group didn’t seem to hear this, or at least they didn’t care, Sam and Tucker looked down the beach to where their friend we standing, staring up with one arm stretched above his head.

“Maybe you should just ask Danny yourself. We’ll get him,” Tucker smiled and dragged Sam up. The two hurried off down the beach, leaving the others to their own musings.

“Danny, what’s wrong?” Sam asked as they approached. Despite being far enough from the group that they wouldn’t be overheard, she spoke quietly.

“I can’t use them,” Danny explained, his words losing all meaning to those watching.

“Isn’t that sort of a side effect of shutting it off?” Tucker cocked his head, pulling out his PDA, which was surprisingly undamaged, and flicking through various files.

“Not lately. I’ve, um, sort of been working on it while training,” Danny said sheepishly.

“What?” Sam snapped.

“Hey, it’s fine! Because of that, I _can_ use them with it off, but they’re just weaker. Right now? I don’t think I can use them at all. Not consciously.”

“Shield?” Tucker paused, thumb hovering over his touch screen.

“No.”

“Inhibitors?”

“Something like that.”

“So it’s not a piece of tech?”

“Nope.”

“So the crash was caused by a ghost, they know about you, and we’re probably not getting off this island any time soon.”

“Pretty much,” Danny nodded. The viewers were shocked. News stations had discussed the theory of ghosts being the cause, but there was no solid proof. But these boys sounded so sure of themselves. Not only that, but Tucker was able to piece together Danny’s theory after three simple questions.

“Danny, do you have any idea where we are?” Sam asked, snatching away Tucker’s PDA, completely ignoring the techno-geeks protests.

“None at all.”

“Seriously?” The PDA slipped out of Sam’s hand in her surprise, and Tucker scrambled to catch it. “But that only happens when we’re _there_. Your place sense is supposed to be _perfect_ here.”

A few people caught on to what Sam was implying, but refused to believe that a teenage boy had the ability to pinpoint his own location anywhere around the world simply be feeling it.

“Inhibitors, remember? But that is an unconscious thing. Tucker, is the green transmitter on?” Danny asked, looking back at his best friend as he practically caressed his rescued PDA.

“Dude, we were in San Francisco. Of course the green transmitter isn’t on.” Tucker scoffed sarcastically, but started sputtering at the sight of Danny’s raised brow. “But, I can turn it on!”

Tucker once again started fiddling with his PDA, swiping the screen in a seemingly random pattern, until suddenly the dim screen was entirely green. Thin, black bars stretched out from the bottom of the screen and started to fluctuate, shooting up, then shrinking back down. All three of them watched the screen intently until the bars disappeared at the bottom of the screen again.

“No signal, obviously. We’re on an isolated island,” Tucker shook his head, but Danny looked thoughtful.

“But it _did_ look,” Danny smirked, meeting Sam’s eyes. Tucker looked up to see them staring at each other, then grinned and coughed, causing both teens to blush and turn away.

“Oh, dude, you probably already heard, but we may have told everyone about your simulations and flying the plane. They have _a lot_ of questions,” Tucker chuckled.

"I heard it all, and now I have to _talk_ to them, don’t I?” Danny groaned, looking back towards the bonfire and surprising the viewers with his apparent disdain towards conversation.

“Yes, Danny, with _words._ No creepy emotion, or image planting stuff either,” Sam said with a grin.

“But guys, sixteen people! I can’t _talk_ to sixteen people. It’s overwhelming, I’ll get a headache,” Danny pouted, slouch a little.

“Suck it up, dude. You’ve been shot by Skulker, you can deal with talking to people,” Tucker shared Sam’s smile.

“I’d rather be shot by Skulker.”

Sam and Tucker were laughing now, and shoved Danny in the direction of the fire. He muttered what sounded like a few rather insulting words, although not in English, and the trio returned to the group.

* * *

“So Fenton flies planes,” Star’s words were blunt and straight to the point. Tucker and Sam could be seen walking away from the fire in the background, revealing that the camera was showing them the conversation held in their absence.

“Apparently he’s dark and brooding too, Tucker said so,” said Kwan.

“Pff, Foley exaggerates about everything. TF as in Too False,” Star shook her head.

“Um, well, we wouldn’t actually know, would we?” Marie spoke up.

“Why not?” Jon asked.

“It’s just that, they’re all kind of closed off. Since freshman year, they stopped hanging out with other people, and weird things always seem to happen around them.”

Realization dawned on the teenagers’ faces, finding truth in the quiet girl’s words.

“You used to hang out with them, didn’t you?” Andy asked. Marie nodded briskly, but didn’t meet anyone’s eye. Silence reigned, something which seemed to be happening a lot during this video.

“This is so interesting,” Rux whispered loudly to Will, most likely being heard on purpose. “It’s like a TV show! Nineteen unlikely sort-of-strangers stranded on an island together. Their fellow passengers have disappeared with no apparent cause, or bodies to be found, and there’s a mysterious trio that’s _obviously_ holding something back, and _obviously_ knows more than they’re letting on!”

“What?” Jon stood, staring at the young woman, but his comment went unanswered.

“Hey, Will, it’s like that old show, you know, the one with the spited monsters and the conspiracy. What was it called again?”

“What did you mean, they know more?”

“Oh, the Survivalists! That’s what it was called, that totally suits us. We’re here, on an island, surviving, with a total conspiracy!”

“What do they know?” Jon yelled, his patience wearing thin, and Rux finally paid attention to him.

“I don’t know what they know, only they know what they know, but it has to be good. They wouldn’t be holding some super-secret conversation otherwise. But I wanna know more about the kid, and flying the plane, that sounds cool,” Rux’s tone was light and cheerful, unbelievably so. Rivalled only by the lilt in the small voice that spoke next.

“He’s like Phantom!” Leo piped up. When no one jumped in to support her, she sighed loudly in the way that exasperated children often do, and continued. “He saved us, and he’s nice, and he isn’t scared.”

“That’s because there’s nothing to be afraid of.”

Kwan and Valerie, who had their backs to the trio, jumped in surprise at Danny’s sudden presence. Andy, who was sitting next to them, simply tilted his head back and smiled up at Danny.

“Hey, welcome back to the circle of friendship.”

Danny chuckled as he, Sam, and Tucker walked around to the empty space on the other side of the fire. “Yeah, friendship. That’s definitely the word you would choose.”

He didn’t sound spiteful. In fact, Danny sounded like he teasing the boy across from him, and Andy responded appropriately with a mock squawk hurt.

“I have absolutely no idea what you mean.”

“Sure you don’t,” Danny smirked. “And no, Kwan, I wasn’t trying to fly the plane. I _was_ flying the plane.”

“Wha- but, how did you? I-”

“Then why did it crash,” Paulina interrupted smugly, crossing her arms and glaring at Danny. The raven sighed, rubbing his forehead. Apparently he hadn’t been lying about the headache.

“I lost consciousness.” Danny’s hand dropped to his chest, which he rubbed absently, and the others noticed the scorch mark on his shirt.

“ _Pride and Prejudice_ , Daniel, what happened?” Lancer gasped.

“Um, just a little electrical discharge from when lighting struck the plane.”

“What? That’s a very serious injury, but the lightning shouldn’t have-”

“Anyway!” Danny cut Lancer off, obviously uncomfortable with the direction his statement had been heading. “You guys had questions?”

“You could fly a plane, because you did simulations?” Mikey asked. Heads bobbed in approval of the question.

“You’d be surprised at how accurate those simulations. They’ve come in handy a few times.”

“Tucker said you did simulations for jets, planes, and trains, as well as shuttles?”

“Yeah.”

“And you just said those simulations have come in handy before.

“I- yeah, oh. Whoops. I shouldn’t have said that.”

“Kid, you’ve driven those things before?”

“That’s not really important.” Danny rubbed the back of his neck, looking helplessly at Sam and Tucker. They offered now support, but were instead muffling their snickers.

“Rux says you know something,” Jon practically growled. He was still standing, and looking at Danny with mistrust.

“Hey, you can’t just outright say it! That doesn’t happen in the show,” Rux hissed, but was silence with a light smack to the arm from Will.

“What is it that you know?”

“I know lots of things,” Danny shrugged.

“Like what?”

“The first ten digits of pi? 3.1415926535, I know that.”

“Not what I meant. What do know about our current situation?”

“Well, I’m pretty sure we survived a devastating plane crash. Um, we’re on a beach, you guys split five bananas between eighteen people.” Danny’s careful word choice wasn’t lost on those watching. “Eating the pretzels was a bad idea because of the salt. We’re on a beach, having a bonfire. What else do you want to know?”

It was the most Danny had said in front of more than three people since crashing on the island.

“Not. What. I. Meant,” Jon hissed. A few people around the circle were struggling to hold in their laughter, despite their own yearning to hear what Danny knew. Rux and Leo didn’t even bother holding back.

“I know the missing thirty-one people are somewhere on the island,” Danny deadpanned, and most of the laughter abruptly ended. Even Sam and Tucker looked surprised to hear this. Leo, not entirely understanding the gravity of what he said, was still giggling, and Rux snickered arrogantly.

“How do you know that?” Jon asked, storming up to the raven. Danny abruptly rose to his feet, not intimidated in the slightest despite having to look up. Danny may have been tall, but there was a good reason Jon played basketball, and it wasn’t a knack for teamwork.

“I also know,” Danny paused, probably revelling in the dramatics of it. “That I’m going to sleep.”

He turned on his heels, sneakers slipping smoothly through the sand, and stalking off towards the plane.

* * *

It looked as if hours had passed. The bonfire outside the plane had burned down to practically nothing. Two lanky forms were sprawled under one of the makeshift lean-tos, presumably the people that had made them. Inside the plane various seats were tilted back as far as they could go, occupied by the other survivors. Naturally, Katherine and Leo sat together, the small girl huddling close to her mother. The A-listers were all within a couple seats of each other, but other than that everyone was fairly spread out. It appeared that the plane had been divided down the middle. From the camera’s vantage point, it could be seen that the girls were sitting on the left, and the boys were on the right.

The view changed to that of the cockpit, and the surprising sight of Danny Fenton sitting in the scorched pilot’s seat, the one he had almost died in earlier that day. His legs were crossed, and there was something bright orange sitting in his lap. Those more knowledgeable in the workings of planes recognized the Black Box immediately. Danny was staring at it intently, one hand resting on the metal casing. Sitting on the floor beside him was a suitcase full of water. He lifted the box from his lap then dropped it into the water. For a few moments, all he did was stare, as if waiting for something to happen. Then he looked straight into the camera, as if he knew it was there, and whispered.

“Come find us.”


	5. The Stuff

_Welcome to **Amity 117** chat forum_

**_Mud-of-Solitude_ has created an account**

**_Mud-of-Solitude:_** Hey

 ** _Mud-of-Solitude:_**             Is anyone else on?

**_KingArthur_ has logged in**

**_KingArthur:_** Welcome to the kingdom!

 ** _Mud-of-Solitude:_**             Camelot?

 ** _KingArthur:_**         I am King Arthur, and I’m the king of the castle

 ** _Mud-of-Solitude:_**             Does this make me the dirty rascal?

 ** _KingArthur:_**         Sure

**_LordOfMud_ has logged in**

**_NoIsY_ has logged in**

**_LordOfMud:_        **I got the stuff

 ** _Mud-of-Soltidue:_**             Plz tell me I didn’t ‘walk’ in to anything illegal

 ** _NoIsY:_**    I Got Stuff Too!

 ** _KingArthur:_**         Excellent!

 ** _Mud-of-Solitude_** :            Srsly, this sounds sketchy

 ** _KingArthur:_**         Before that, has everyone seen the newest video?

 ** _LordOfMud:_**        Ye~up

 ** _NoIsY:_**    Just Finished It

 ** _Mud-of-Solitude:_**             I have no clue what’s going on, but yeah

 ** _KingArthur:_         **Reactions?

 ** _LordOfMud:_**        Danny knowz!

 ** _NoIsY:_**    I Don’t Know. It Could Be A Coincidence :/

 ** _LordOfMud:_**        What happened to your optimizm, Fallout?

 ** _NoIsY:_**    I’m Just Saying. No One Else Has Seen The Cameras Or Whatever. Why Would He?

 ** _Mud-of-Solitude:_**             That Rux chick did say he knew more than he was letting on

 ** _LordOfMud:_**        Maybe, or she was totally bullshitting

 ** _KingArthur:_**         No foul language in the castle!

 ** _NoIsY:_**    Anyone Know What That Orange Thing Was? At The End?

 ** _KingArthur:_**         I looked it up. It’s called a black box. Apparently if that white cylinder on the outside gets wet, it sends out a signal that can be tracked. It’s meant for when a plane crashes underwater

 ** _LordOfMud:_**        Cool. Fenton iz smart

 ** _KingArthur:_**         Speaking of Fenton, what did you guys find out?

 ** _NoIsY:_**    Ironically, They’re A Ghost Studies Class, Apparently

 ** _LordOfMud:_**        Four of em are missing

 ** _NoIsY:_**    That Was The CA’s First Flight

 ** _NoIsY:_**    Grayson Is Also Super Rich

 ** _LordOfMud:_**        Danny iz hot too XD

 ** _NoIsY:_**    One Of The Missing Guys Is Apparently An A**

 ** _KingArthur:_**         That still counts as foul language

 ** _NoIsY:_**    He’s A Jerk

 ** _Mud-of-Solitude:_**             What are you doing?

 ** _KingArthur:_**         We decided to find out about the people on the island

 ** _Mud-of-Solitude:_**             It’s a bit chaotic

 ** _KingArthur:_**         I concur. We must organize! Send anything you find out here

**_KingArthur_ sent a ** _ link _

**_KingArthur:_**         I’ll organize it

 ** _NoIsY:_**    Yes, Sire!

**_NoIsY_ has logged out**

**_Mud-of-Solitude:_**             Should… should I look too?

 ** _KingArthur:_**         It would be most helpful

 ** _Mud-of-Solitude:_**             Okay

 ** _LordOfMud:_**        So Fallout won’t know this, but who should we research first? Ya know, to stay organized

 ** _KingArthur:_**         Let’s go by group. Tucker, Marie, and Kwan first?

 ** _LordOfMud:_**        Kay

**_LordOfMud_ has logged out**

**_Mud-of-Solitude_ has logged out**

**_KingArthur_ has logged out**

**_YourFather_ has logged in**

**_YourFather:_**         I am YourFather!

 ** _YourFather:_**         Is anyone here this time?

 ** _YourFather:_**         No? Of course not

 ** _YourFather_** **has logged out**


	6. Ghost Watch

“So why am I here, exactly?”

“It’s an interview, dear.”

“Obviously, but why _me_?”

“Your brother is on the island, isn’t he? And your parents aren’t taking our calls.”

“I know all that, but this was advertised as a _classmate_ interview. The only classmate here is him.”

“So happy I didn’t join that stupid class.”

“Mikey said it was because you were too stupid.”

“Shut up, brat. Why are you even here, you’re just a freshman?”

“Same reason as her, got a brother on the island.”

“Well, no, that’s not actually the reason. It’s basic media psychology, really, to get more viewers. Pretty girl, good looking boy, cute kid. Everyone will be compelled to watch for one of those reasons.”

“Hey, I’m not a ‘ _cute kid_ ’!”

“You’re smaller than my brother was at that age. You’re a cute kid.”

“Um, we are on the air.”

The two boys and the young woman swivelled to face the camera as the interviewer chuckled nervously.

“Anyways, I’m Tiffany Snow for Amity Park news, and welcome to Ghost Watch! Just yesterday we witnessed the release of the second video following one of Casper High’s own senior classes, and others, on ‘the island’. With me today are three young persons with close connections to those we see on screen. Care to introduce yourselves?” Tiffany smiled brightly, her familiar chipper attitude a bit of an annoyance for Amity Park residents.

“Sure. I’m Jazz Fenton, Danny’s my little brother,” the attractive redhead sitting on the guest couch smiled at the camera.

“I’m Max. Mikey, the scrawny, weak looking kid, is my older brother,” a boy who was possibly scrawnier and more weak looking than the previously mentioned Mikey chimed. If the other boy hadn’t already mentioned that Max was a freshmen, those watching the interview would have for sure assumed he was only eleven or twelve.

“Wesley Weston. _The_ Wesley Weston. I’m in the same grade as those losers, but I only really know Jon. We’re both on the basketball team,” the last boy mumbled. He looked extremely sullen and kept glaring at the camera.

“Right,” Tiffany nodded slowly. “Are you worried about the missing class?”

Wesley shrugged. “Not really. Like I said, I don’t actually _know_ any of them. I prefer my own company. Besides, it’s just some ghost playing around. Soon Danny Phantom’ll swoop in, save everyone, and it’ll turn out that they’ve all been lounging around somewhere having a great time while everyone else panics.”

“I really doubt any of that is true, except for Danny Phantom saving everyone. And maybe a ghost having some fun. Of course I’m worried, that’s my little brother on that island. But he’s a smart kid, and he knows what he’s doing,” Jazz interjected, scowling at Wesley for his lackadaisical attitude.

“Why do you think he knows what he’s doing?” Tiffany asked.

“Because he knows a lot about wilderness survival, and our parents are ghost hunters. Dealing with ghosts is kind of his area.”

“But not yours?”

“Danny’s the one who’s going to take over Fenton Works, not me. I may know more about ghosts than most people, but Danny is better.”

“Right. And what did you think of the end of that last video, when he looked into the camera?”

“We don’t actually know there’s a camera, do we? If ghosts are involved, there’s any number of methods that could explain the recordings. While I’d like to think he knows, I’m pretty sure that it was just a coincidence.”

“’Come find us’!” Max said suddenly, in a near perfect imitation of Danny’s voice.

“What?” The other three people on screen blinked at the younger boy.

“’Come find us’, what Danny said. It was really creepy,” Max shrugged.

“Way creepy,” Wesley agreed. “Jazz, I hope Danny is going to be a patient of yours, because he needs help.”

“Hey, that’s my little brother you’re talking about, and it’s perfectly healthy for people to talk to themselves.”

“Sure, but while sitting in a dark, totally burnt out cockpit where he almost _died_ while playing around with a weird orange thing?”

“It’s a black box, since you obviously don’t know anything about planes. Getting it wet sends out a signal that can be tracked. It was night time, so obviously it was dark, they don’t exactly have electricity. And my brother is probably the most mentally balanced person I know,” Jazz seethed.

“How do you know that?”

“Because _everyone_ would know if he wasn’t,” she snapped, then her eyes widened. Judging by her expression, she said something that she wasn’t supposed to say.

“What exactly do you mean by that?” Tiffany pressed, leaning forwards in anticipation.

“I just mean it’d be really obvious,” Jazz crossed her arms and glared at the three people around her, clearly saying she wouldn’t be revealing anything else.

Tiffany was quick to change the subject. “Max, what about you? Are you worried about your brother?”

“Sure, I guess so. He’s sort of a weak kid and doesn’t have a lot of friends or whatever. But I don’t know, he looks fine and everything.” Max leaned back, looking distinctly bored and uncaring. Until Jazz slipped an arm around his shoulders. He stiffened momentarily, a light blush creeping onto his cheeks at the prospect of being treated like a kid, before relaxing and muttering something under his breath.

“Um, okay. We have some calls waiting from people that would like to comment or ask questions. First caller?”

A TV screen behind Tiffany suddenly turned white, and a black line appeared in the middle. It started to fluctuate at the person on the line spoke.

“ _Uh, yeah, hi. I got a question for Fenton.”_

“Jazz.”

“ _Yeah, Jazz. So, the general consensus right now is that a ghost is responsible for the plane disappearing. Even Danny thinks so, and it really does make the most sense. What I’m wondering, is if your family could somehow be involved?_ ”

“Excuse me?” Jazz blinked, obviously shocked, as she stared at the fluctuating black line.

“ _Well, it’s just that your parents are ghost hunters. And according to you, Danny will be a ghost hunter one day as well. So is it possible that this is some kind of vendetta against your family?_ ”

“I—well, it’s technically possible, yeah, but I really doubt it’s related to my parents. They may be ghost hunters, but Phantom and the Red Huntress are the primary hunters and defenders of Amity Park. Our parents focus more on public defense and knowledge these days. And the ghosts that they do make a habit of catching aren’t powerful enough to do something like this.”

“ _How can you be sure of that?_ ”

“I’ve frequently looked over their ghost files, which are made up of their notes, as well as Danny’s more accurate and detailed ones. Any ghost that’s ever been seen in Amity Park is recorded there, and the more powerful ghosts have a tendency to just leave and not return after Phantom beats them.”

“ _What about your brother? He’s a ghost hunter._ ”

“No. Technically speaking, Danny Fenton isn’t a ghost hunter.” Jazz rolled her eyes and smirked, hinting at what could possibly be some kind of inside joke. The meaning was naturally lost on all those watching.

“ _Hah, nice wording. I just have one more question, still for you, Jazz._ ”

“Okay.”

“ _I guess it’s actually three, but here we go. Why is Danny so close to ghosts, when did his behaviour start changing, and was that the same time that he first met Grim?_ ”

“Who are you?”

“ _Just call me Artie._ ”

“Okay, Artie. Listen close, my brother—


	7. Separation

No one really expected the third video to be released as quickly as it was, considering the length of time between the first and second was over a week. In hindsight, many people also realized that they shouldn’t have expected it to take a long time. After all, there was a good ten days between the present day, and the day being viewed in the video. So it was largely a relief when the next video was posted the same day as the _Ghost_ _Watch_ interview, which claimed to be cut short due to technical difficulties. The population in general assumed those ‘difficulties’ took the form of something green and ghostly.

Screens across the world flared to life, displaying the rather beautiful scene of the morning sun rising over the ocean, through an airplane window. Most people were already awake, their gentle slumbers disturbed by the bright light shining through the windows.

Mikey was shuffling down the aisle, the resemblance between him and his brother extremely apparent to anyone who had witnessed the interview, and the trio was huddled at the back of the plane. Or, technically, the middle, since the broken wing that divided the plane in half prevented anyone from actually going to the true back of the plane without stepping outside first. Their conversation was hushed and, from what the viewers could tell, urgent. But the camera didn’t zoom towards them as was expected. Instead, it headed towards the front of the plane, passing over Mikey’s shoulder, and gave a perfect view of the three figures standing in the cockpit doorway.

“What the hell is that?” Jon asked.

“It’s not like it’s a dangerous animal,” Dylan shrugged as Jon’s threatened tone, which surprised everyone. The gesture was so relaxed for him that people were starting to think maybe he wasn’t as paranoid as he seemed in the previous videos. Maybe the stress had just been getting to him. Those thoughts were dashed away with his next jumble of sentences. “Although it could be, you know. Underneath the metal casing? Maybe someone trapped it there last night, and if we lift it, it’ll come jumping out at us and eat our faces!”

“It’s not an animal,” Mikey interrupted as he walked behind them. “It’s a black box.”

“But it’s orange,” Jon pointed out, but Mikey had already left the plane.

“It’s just a name,” mumbled Casey, the CA, as they stared at the water filled suitcase.

“So what’s it for?” Casey quickly explained the box’s purpose as more people slipped out of the plane behind them.

“Okay, so water activates. Why is it in a suitcase, then, and not just on the beach?” Jon glanced incredulously at Casey, as if she should know all the answers. She didn’t, obviously, and instead blushed in embarrassment.

“If it were on the beach, a big wave could come by and wash it away, and then the signal wouldn’t be transmitting where we are, but just some random place in the middle of the ocean!” Dylan exclaimed.

“That… actually sort of makes sense,” Jon said slowly. More people had slipped behind them to step out onto the beach as they were discussing, and now the only six people were left in the plane. The trio still whispering in their seats, and the three that the camera was focused on.

Once again the viewers expected to be included in the trio’s hushed conversation, and were once again disappointed when suddenly they were looking out over the beach. Everyone but the six still in the plane were milling about on the sand, most of them staring up apprehensively at the forest that seemed to occupy most of the island. Those that weren’t, at least the students that weren’t, instead focused upon their teacher.

“Well, we were lucky enough to find some food yesterday, thank you for that Paulina,” Lancer started. Paulina smirked, flashing a pompous smile at the others. “Since shelter is taken care of-”

“I can’t believe we didn’t think of the plane yesterday.”

“-then I think we should split up again to find more food, and some fresh water,” the overweight teacher finished, casting a disapproving look Jon, who had emerged from the plane in time to make his comment.

“Mr. Lancer?”

Lancer jumped at the voice suddenly sounding from beside him, and the camera swivelled around to reveal the trio standing only a few feet away, apparently having exited the plane just moments ago.

“Yes, Daniel?”

“It’s just what I said yesterday, we don’t really know—” Danny stopped speaking abruptly and looked around the beach. Almost all eyes had settled on him. He winced, just a barely perceptible twinge, and for a moment one of his hands drifted up to his head. Sam immediately took over for him.

“We don’t know what dangers there are on the island.”

“Pff, nothing bad happened yesterday,” Paulina scoffed.

“Yeah, but that could have been pure luck. There could be all kinds of predators here that we don’t know about, not to mention the strange assortment of trees, meaning this island obviously isn’t normal. There could be geological dangers too,” Sam snapped back.

“Wouldn’t animals have already attacked us?” The Latina still held her superior tone, but sounded a little wary.

“Not necessarily.” It was Tucker this time who answered. “If this island doesn’t have any people, that means animals wouldn’t be used to humans, and they might be a little scared. They’d wait and see if we’re a threat before attacking.”

“Oh.”

“So what are you three suggesting we do?” Lancer brought everyone’s attention back to the main problem, only to once again be interrupted.

“Pray to Cas!” A few heads snapped over to the two young adults still sitting under their makeshift shelters. Rux was grinning, with her hands clasped together, and Will just sighed loudly.

“Um, no,” Danny shook his head. “One group goes out _together_ to look for food and water. Decreases risk of predator attacks, more people to help out in a tight situation. Right, Will?”

“Yeah, pretty much,” Will shrugged.

“Alright, I guess,” Lancer smiled, though a little skeptically. “Anyone who would like to go out and search, come over here. I’m assuming you three know who should and shouldn’t go?”

He turned to the trio beside him, only to find that it was just a duo. Tucker and Sam were still standing there, but Danny had walked away. As those willing to go into the forest approached, an excited squeal sounded from the back of the group. It went largely ignored. Tucker and Sam started walking through the group, and the camera once again focused on Jon, Casey, and Dylan who were still standing close by each other.

“You two are kind of the last people I expected to _willingly_ go into the forest,” Jon said, staring at his two companions. Casey looked embarrassed when he said this, and Dylan just scowled a little.

“I’m your cabin attendant. It’s my job to assist you.”

“I don’t think that really applies to this situation, no one’s really asking for peanuts,” Jon retorted.

“I should still help out.”

“Okay,” Jon shrugged, then he turned to Dylan. “And you?”

“I just want to help out.”

“Hah, fine,” Jon shrugged again, but he seemed to be smiling. Tucker stopped by, eyeing them quickly.

“Do we pass?”

“Yeah, more or less,” Tucker nodded, then moved on.

“We need to pass something?” Dylan asked, watching Tucker leave.

“No idea. Apparently the trio knows what they’re doing, though, so I guess they’re decided who goes and who stays.”

“Why do you call them that?” asked Casey.

“Wow, it’s like twenty questions. Everyone calls them that. They’ve been friends since elementary school, and they sort of stick to themselves. There really isn’t another reason.”

“Oh.”

“Okay, everyone who’s coming, we should leave now in case we’re gone a long time!” Lancer’s voice carried over the small gathering. “Jonathon, Star, and Sam. You three were with Ms. Sanchez when she found the bananas, would you be able to lead us back there?”

Jon and Sam frowned a little at the inference that Paulina had found the bananas, but didn’t say anything. Instead the headed to the front, where Star was already waiting. Oddly enough, Casey and Dylan followed Jonathon as well, and the group set off into the trees.

There were several cuts in the video where time was obviously skipping ahead. What little sky that was visible through the trees was noticeably every time it was visible, and the group marching through the trees was getting noticeably more ragged. Finally they reached a familiar clearing, and three leading the group stopped.

“The bananas were over there,” Star pointed to the tree and everyone looked at it eagerly, as if it should have sprouted a dozen more bunches since yesterday.

“There was just one?” Casey asked. Whether she meant one tree, or one bunch, it didn’t really matter since the answer was the same for both questions.

“Yep,” Sam nodded. “I said the trees were weird. Bananas shouldn’t be growing in such mild weather, especially not among _pine trees._ And half these flowers aren’t even if season.”

“Alright. We’ll take a break, then look around the area for more food,” Lancer informed everyone, and most of the group said down immediately. A few, like the trio, and Grayson, remained standing.

“Are you sure this is the right place?” Dylan whispered to Jon.

“Yeah.”

“It’s just, it sort of took us a while to get here, and it wouldn’t have taken you this long yesterday.”

“We also didn’t have to lead a group of...” Jon paused to count the number of people in the area. “Nine people.”

“That’s not right,” Casey frowned.

“Wh-what’s not right?”

“That number. You included the girls in the count, right? So with you that means there’s ten of us, but we started with twelve.”

“Damn it!” Everyone jumped at Danny’s sudden outburst, and when he saw everyone looking at him, he blushed a little.

“Sorry, but Rux and Will aren’t here,” Danny explained.

“That weird girl?” Kwan asked.

“No wonder it was so quiet,” Star sneered.

“Great, now we have to go look for those idiots,” Grayson sighed. “Although I think we should just leave them to find their own way.”

“What the hell?” Sam shouted “Of course we’re going to look for them, they could be hurt or lost!”

“I’m just saying, _we_ could get lost or hurt looking for them.”

It really was a valid point, and the students looked like they were agreeing with Grayson. Lancer, who the camera chose to focus on, looked extremely conflicted.

“And I already told you, I’m not letting some kids tell me what to do,” Grayson snapped.

“Well, you don’t have to, because Danny already went to look for them!” Sam threw her arms up, and the camera panned out so that the viewers could see Danny had indeed left.

“So now that kid is going to get himself killed.”

Sam’s reply was caught be the camera, as it focused back on Jon, Dylan, and Casey.

“If Danny dies before telling us what he knows about the island, then I’m buying his parents’ most lethal weapon and hunting down his ghost,” Jon growled.

“That seems a little excessive,” Casey said quietly.

“Just a bit. The weapon could malfunction and hurt you instead,” Dylan added.

Jon rounded on his two companions. “Why are you guys following me anyways?”

“Survival. If we’re attacked by something, you’re my best chance. You’re a jock, so you’re stronger than the others, and even though you’re an A-lister you don’t bully me like Kwan and Dash do. Also, you do like the show off to the girls a little, so you’re more likely to try and appear strong by fending off an attacker,” Dylan explained, no hesitation in his voice.

“You… I, what?” Jon stumbled over his words.

“I observe, how do you think I theorize so many situations?”

“A wild imagination is what I always thought. And what about you?” Jon looked to Casey.

“You sort of remind me of my cousin,” she said after a moment’s pause. “He was like a brother to me.”

The answers provided were apparently satisfactory, because Jon leaned back against his tree and didn’t press the subject further.

“Okay, everyone! We’ve been resting for about ten minutes, I think, so we should start looking for food now. Don’t forget to keep an eye out for William, Ruxandera, and Daniel. And remember to stay close!” Lancer said. Those who had been sitting stood, brushing dirt and grass of their legs, and started roaming through the nearby trees. Despite Lancer’s reminder to stick together, the group started to break apart and drift away from each other. Jon, Dylan, and Casey remained within each other’s sight lines, as well as within sight of the clearing, but weren’t around any others.

“Either of you know anything about edible plants?” Jon asked as he stared down at a small gathering of shrubs.

“Sorry, no,” Casey shook her head, turning away from the strange looking tree she had been examining.

“I know a little bit,” Dylan said.

“Really, how do you know that? See anything useful?” Jon gestured to their surrounding area.

“Military, survivalist parents, and that plant is edible,” Dylan pointed to a bush just to Jon’s left, and the athlete looked at it quizzically.

“But it’s flowers.”

“It’s chicory, it’s edible.”

“All of it?”

“Leaves, roots, and flowers. Though I think you’re supposed to boil the roots.”

“You’re not just saying that to get me to eat a flower, are you?”

“No, it really is edible.”

“Because that’s, like, _blue_ , not a cool blue, but _blue_.”

“The colour doesn’t have anything to do with it though.”

“Maybe not to you.”

“I mean, you could accidentally eat part of a twig, then it could get caught in your throat, and cut your esophagus, and you’d probably die. But the colour doesn’t matter. Casey doesn’t seem to mind.”

Both boys stopped and looked at the young woman, who was crouching beside the plant and had the edge of a pale blue petal sticking out between her lips. Jon opened his mouth, about to comment, when a scream suddenly echoed over the treetops.

“I knew it! There’s predators, and they’re going to eat us!” Dylan yelled, looking around in panic.

“There’s not predators, some idiot just did something stupid,” Jon snapped.

“Um, do ghosts count as predators?” Casey asked, slowly rising to her feet.

“The hell if I know, why?” Jon rounded on the CA, then turned to see where she was looking. Stalking towards them was a wolf, obviously a ghost because of its slightly larger size and green fur. It was snarling, ectoplasm dripping from its maw.

“It’s not that big, we could take it,” Jon reasoned, although he was backing away along with the others. A few of the more thrill-seeking viewers were goading him on, almost forgetting that this was real life and not some TV show, but they were quickly reminded of how real the danger was when the wolf suddenly grew in size. It now towered a good four feet above Jon’s head.

“We can’t take it,” Jon paled. The ghost wolf barked, and that seemed to be the signal to start running. Jon, Dylan, and Casey spun around and bolted. Jon being the fastest was in the lead, but only by a foot or two. He was leading the others towards an area ahead where the trees were closer together before Dylan’s shout stopped him.

“That’s not going to help!”

“Why not?” Jason called back, taking a moment to glance over his shoulder.

“Ghost! Intangible! That’s why!” Dylan panted. He yelped as the wolf suddenly lunged forward, its paw striking a tree by his head.

“Then where are we supposed to go?” Casey shouted, stumbling through a bush.

“Um, wolf ghost, can’t fly, climb!” Dylan scanned the nearby trees as they ran, and focused on one with several low branches. “Sharp left!”

Following Dylan’s lead, Jon and Casey abruptly changed direction. The wolf attempted to follow suit, but ended up tripping over its own large paws and fell over, tumbling across the ground. In its surprise, it didn’t turn itself intangible, and the wolf ended up sliding into a thick bunch of trees.

“Hurry up while its disoriented,” Dylan hissed, stopping by his chosen tree. Jon got down in front of it, providing a step first for Casey, and then Dylan. They climbed onto the lowest branches and help Jon up after them before going higher into the tree. The wolf, having recovered from its disorientation, lumbered over to the tree. It started pawing at some of the lower branches and forced its prey to retreat farther upwards.

“How’d you know it couldn’t fly?” Casey asked with a slight waver in her voice.

“It was just a theory.”

“Seriously? What if you were wrong?” Jon cried. He pulled his leg up just in time to avoid the wolf’s jaws. “Now what?”

“We get rid of it?”

“How?”

“I don’t know! I don’t have ghost powers, like Phantom, or guns like Danny!”

“Fenton has _guns_?”

“Danny always has guns!”

“Boys,” Casey interrupted. “I don’t really think that’s important at the moment.”

“Why—” Jon’s question was cut off as the wolf suddenly rammed its head against the tree, making it shake. He wrapped his arms around the tree as he slipped a little from the branch. The wolf charged again, and this time Casey slipped. She shrieked as she toppled backwards, and Dylan lunged to catch her. His hands caught her wrist, and Jon was suddenly jumping across the branches to catch both of them.

“No, no, no, no, no! We’re going to fall and break our necks, and then the ghost wolf is going to eat our corpses. Do ghosts eat corpses? Do ghosts even eat? _Can_ ghosts even eat?” Dylan rambled as Casey continued to scream, swinging and kicking her legs to avoid the large teeth snapping at her feet.

“You guys. Are really. Heavy!” Jon groaned. He was stretched out across to branches, feet hooked behind him for leverage, with one hand on Dylan’s waistband and other on Casey’s free wrist.

“You shouldn’t say that to a girl. You’ll never get a girlfriend that way,” Casey gasped, regaining some composure despite the snapping jaws just below her.

“Not really important right now,” Jon hissed. The wolf ran into the tree again, and two syllables were heard before they all fell.

“Uh-oh.” 

* * *

The sight of Lancer roaming through the trees, at an almost leisurely pace, was surprising for most of the viewers. Until they noticed Casey standing a ways away through the trees, Dylan and Jon close by. The ghost wolf hadn’t come yet. Lancer spared a moment to glance at the doomed group, then turned away. He was surveying the others more than he was looking for food, although his eyes did flicker up to the tree tops several times.

He paused abruptly, and the hints of a conversation drifted through the trees.

“—himself.”

“No way, not if he hasn’t already. You’re just pissed he told you to stay behind.”

“Shut up.”

“Just admit you l—”

“Tucker, I am wearing studded boots. I suggest you rethink that sentence.”

“—ike not hurting me.”

There was a sharp snort. “You wish.”

“Mr. Foley, Ms. Manson?” Lancer asked, and the camera swivelled to reveal the two friends standing a few feet away.

“Yeah, Mr. Lancer?” Tucker asked innocently.

“I suggest you continue searching for food, rather than bicker, so that once the others return there’s something for them to eat,” Lancer said, in his widely recognized ‘teacher voice’. A few people watching scowled at his hypocritical attitude.

Sam apparently agreed with them, because she started muttering rather forcefully under her breath, although the only words the camera caught were ‘sic’ and ‘Cujo’.

Lancer waited until they started searching again before moving on. He paused every little while, staring at something intensely.

“Is it edible?” Lancer asked himself, proving that he actually didn’t know what he was looking for. His attention was drawn by a rustling just off to his right, and he looked over at the two A-listers, Star and Kwan, who had come with the group. Both of them were frozen and Star appeared to be breathing heavily.

“Ms. Delisle, what’s wrong?”

But she didn’t respond. Kwan was reaching out slowly, and started to pull her back.

“Kwan—”

Something suddenly blew through the trees, causing Star to let out an ear-splitting scream, while Lancer was knocked away. He rolled through the trees, wrapping his arms around his head. He was halted by a rather thick bush and lay there a moment while the shouts echoing from off screen were the only hints at what was happening.

“Come on, we gotta run!”

“Dude, don’t follow it! Stay together!”

On screen Lancer was blinking away his disorientation and staggering to his feet. The forest had gone quiet, and it looked like everyone else was gone. There was a path broken through the trees, where whatever passed before had barreled through the brush.

“ _Lord of the Flies_!” Lancer exclaimed. Just as before, he started walking the area, but this time with obvious panic. He shouted out for his students, not bothering with the formality of last names, but received no response. He ended up standing in the middle of the path that had been cleared, and stared down the way the beast, or whatever it was, had gone. From what the viewers could tell, it looked to be a near straight shot through the trees.

“Following something?” Lancer asked the seemingly empty forest. His words were slightly slurred, suggesting he might have a concussion, and he squinted in thought before his eyes went comically wide. “That’s where the plane is!”

The overweight teacher took a moment to scan the trees one more time, before setting off down the path, oblivious to the groans emanating before computers screens across the globe. Most of these groans were along the lines of “ _you don’t_ follow _the monster!_ ”

But it didn’t really matter, because he couldn’t really hear them. 

* * *

The screen was black, but sounds could be heard. Soft, shaky breathing, and something shifting against the ground. There was a muffled groan, followed by a sharp gasp, and laboured breathing.

“Oh… _shit_ , that… that doesn’t… feel right,” a voice, obviously male, huffed. “Guys, you here too, or is it just me?”

A light scuffling, then a thump. Another scuffle, another thump.

“Oh, cool… you’re just passed out. Now wake up!” There was a dry laugh. “Please?”

“Worst case scenario, we’re all dead and this is the eternal void,” a second voice groaned.

“I don’t think the eternal void is supposed to be painful.”

“It was just a theory.”

“I hate your stupid theories.”

There was a moment of silence then a third, female voice, spoke up. “Wh-what happened?”

“We fell down the rabbit’s hole.”

“My cousin like _Alice_ _in_ _Wonderland_ too. Just more you have in common.”

“I’m not that big of a fan, but the literal situation applies. I’m just certain Alice didn’t bleed in the books.”

“Oh, man. How long have we been down here? If you’re hurt, what if you bleed out? What if we can’t get out, and Casey and I are forced to eat your corpse to survive!”

“Dylan, just… not helping.”

“I think it’s nighttime.”

“Just because it’s dark, Casey, doesn’t mean it’s not day. We _did_ fall down a hole, we should see the sky.”

“So look up.”

The camera’s angle must have shifted, because the darkness seemed to get slightly less dark, and small lights flickered from far above.

“Oh.”

“But we still don’t know if we can get out!”

“Then let’s wait for daytime, so we can see where we are. I really don’t have the energy for this.”

“You could be concussed, don’t go to sleep or you’ll die.”

“Thanks, Dylan. Just, thanks.”


	8. Profiles - part 1

_Welcome to **Amity 117** chat forum_

**_YourFather_ has logged in**

**_YourFather:_** Anyone on? I’m not late this time

**_BoyWes_ has created an account**

**_YourFather:_** I am YourFather!

**_BoyWes_ has logged out**

**_YourFather:_** … Dammit

**_YourFather_ has logged out**

**_KingArthur_ has logged in**

**_NoIsY_ has logged in**

**_Mud-Of-Solitude_ has logged in**

**_LordOfMud_** **has logged in**

 ** _KingArthur:_** Welcome to the Kingdom! I have the three profiles. I’ll send one at a time, then we discuss!

 ** _Mud-Of-Solitude:_** Okay

**_KingArthur_ has sent a FILE**

* * *

 

_FILE :external import: [KWAN_ISHIYAMA]_

**Name** : Kwan Ishiyama

 **Age** : 18

 **Appearance:** Brown hair and eyes

**Outside sources:**

Part of the A-list social group, plays football and bullies nerds

The son of Casper High’s principle and best friends with one of the missing students

Likes animals

**Video reveals:**

A really quiet person

Gets annoyed by Paulina (?) [ ** _K.A._** – don’t we all?]

Quietest A-lister

Possibly sort of nice (volunteered to pair with Marie)

Kinda smart 

* * *

 ** _LordOfMud:_** There really izn’t a lot

 ** _NoIsY:_** There’s Only So Much Info You Can Find On Google

 ** _KingArthur:_** _Relevant_ info. A lot of it was useless

 ** _Mud-Of-Solitude:_** Oh thank gosh, no one did anything illegal

 ** _LordOfMud_** : Az far az you know. Also, _gosh?_

 ** _Mud-Of-Solitude:_** I don’t swear

**_Fantomo_ has logged in**

**_LordOfMud_ : **Panzy

 ** _KingArthur:_** Fantomo, welcome back! Anything to add on Kwan?

 ** _Fantomo_** : Um, not really. I just know he and his friends are jerks and they pick on my cousin. And he hasn’t really done anything yet.

 ** _KingArthur:_** You are completely right, my loyal subject!

 ** _Fantomo:_** Subject?!

 ** _KingArthur:_** Moving on!

 ** _KingArthur_** **has sent a FILE**

* * *

 

_FILE :external import: [MARIE_LOGAN]_

**Name:** Marie Logan

 **Age:** 18

 **Appearance:** Light hair, grey eyes

**Outside sources:**

An average student

Has an older brother and a younger sister

Doesn’t stand out much

Average nice girl

**Video reveals:**

Small

Quiet

Nice

Shy (?)

Fidgets a lot 

* * *

 ** _LordOfMud:_** Theze profiles suck

 ** _Mud-Of-Solitude_** : At least we have something, though

 ** _LordOfMud:_** Oh, shut up servant

 ** _Mud-Of-Solitude:_** Servant?

 ** _LordOfMud:_** Just look at the namez. I’m the _Lord_ of mud. And you, are mud

 ** _Mud-Of-Solitude:_** Touché

 ** _KingArthur:_** Fantomo, do you have anything to add.

 ** _Fantomo:_** Nope. I already said, I only know Tucker, Sam, and Danny

 ** _NoIsY:_** This Marie Girl Seems Kinda Basic And Cliché

 ** _NoIsY:_** Small, Quiet, Shy, She’s An Average Average Girl.

 ** _LordOfMud:_** So she’z either a super genius, or she’ll be that person to scream “SHUT UP!” when everyone iz being stupid

 ** _NoIsY:_** Probably

 ** _KingArthur:_** If that is all, my loyal knights, I have the next profile

 ** _Fantomo:_** Knights, subjects, just pick one. Although I for one prefer knights

 ** _KingArthur_** **has sent a FILE**

**_TechMaster_ has created an account**

* * *

_FILE :external import: [TUCKER_FOLEY]_

**Name:** Tucker Foley

 **Age:** 18

 **Appearance:** Brown hair, teal eyes

**Outside sources:**

Nerd, geek, or whatever

Really, and I mean _really_ , likes technology [ **K.A.** – it borders on creepy]

Only child

Techno genius

Friends with Danny and Sam

**Video reveals:**

Names his tech

Afraid to wake up Danny (?)

Good reflexes

Teases his friends

Talkative

Knows first aid

 _Not_ a ladies man 

* * *

 ** _TechMaster:_** I hate that guy

 ** _LordOfMud:_** Why, did he hit on you? XD

 ** _TechMaster:_** Technology is mine to control!

 ** _NoIsY:_** Um… Sure…

 ** _KingArthur:_** Now, Fantomo. You said you know Tucker?

 ** _Fantomo:_** Yeah, and you’ve pretty much got him down. Also, he prefers the term techno-geek

**_CirqueDuPineapple_ had created an account**

**_LordOfMud:_** So no crazy secrets from Foley?

 ** _Fantomo:_** Nope. He’s pretty honest

 ** _LordOfMud:_** Just the hot one then

 ** _Fantomo:_** O.O I’m just gonna pretend I didn’t read that

 ** _LordOfMud:_** Wat? I could be talking about the chick

 ** _Fantomo:_** But you’re not

 ** _LordOfMud:_** No. No I’m not

 ** _Mud-Of-Solitude:_** So, who’s next?

 ** _KingArthur:_** Dylan, Jon, and Casey

 ** _CirqueDuPineapple:_** A NEW VIDEO IS ALREADY UP!

**_CirqueDuPineapple_ has logged out**

**_KingArthur_ has logged out**

**_LordOfMud_ has logged out**

**_Mud-Of-Solitude_ has logged out**

**_NoIsY_ has logged out**

**_TechMaster_ has logged out**

**_Fantomo_ has logged out**


	9. This Leader Thing

The newest video started exactly the same way the last one had. In the plane, watching Mikey shuffle past Jon, Dylan, and Casey standing in the door to the cockpit. For a moment, people suspected somehow the same video had been posted twice. They were proven wrong when instead of zooming in on the three at the front of the plane, it focused on the trio in the back. But it was apparently near the end of the conversation, so very little information could be gathered.

“So after Lancer talks to everyone?” Tucker asked.

“Yeah, it’ll probably happen soon,” Danny nodded, gesturing around the plane. Mikey was already gone, along with several other people.

“Should one of us stay behind, in case something happens to the people left on the beach?”

“No. If there smart, they won’t go anywhere.”

“Of course they’re not smart,” Sam scoffed. “Did you see them yesterday?”

“There isn’t really a lot we can do about that,” Tucker shrugged. “The more people looking for food and water, the better.”

“He’s starting,” Danny said, sliding out of his seat. The camera followed Tucker’s gaze out the window, where Lancer was standing in front of their classmates and the others stranded on the island.

“—lucky to find some food yesterday—”

Lancer’s spiel started in the background but went generally ignored by the viewers as Tucker squeezed past Jon and jogged over to Sam and Danny.

“Mr. Lancer?”

Tucker snickered along with Sam as they watched their teacher jump, but they shared a look when everyone’s eyes started shifting to their raven haired friend. When Danny abruptly cut himself off, Tucker and Sam seemed to have a sort of silent conversation, consisting of a lot of glares, before Sam picked up where he left off. Tucker seemed to have a light of victory in his eyes at the fact that he wasn’t the one explaining, although that quickly fell to annoyance when Paulina started talking.

“Wouldn’t animals have already attacked us?”

“Not necessarily,” Tucker interjected. As he went on to continue his explanation, the camera started to move through the gathering, focusing on a few faces. Grayson, who looked to be annoyed, exasperated, and overall just tired of the teenagers around him. Kwan seemed to be rolling his eyes at Paulina, and Star was studiously ignoring everything in favour of checking her nails.

“Pray to Cas!”

Star paused in her ‘studying’ and looked back at Rux, before turning back and scoffing. “Stupid nerds.”

“You do realize she’s probably a college student, right?” Kwan asked.

“So what? There’s lots of stupid people in college,” Star snapped back, effectively quelling Kwan’s argument. The viewers had to agree, Star wasn’t wrong. “She should be doing something helpful, instead of shouting random things.”

“You should be doing something helpful too,” Kwan pointed out.

“I will, maybe, when there’s something helpful to do.”

“And she probably will too.”

Star just shrugged in response, obviously uninterested.

“—you three know who should and shouldn’t go?”

“Why is Lancer listening to those losers?” Paulina, who had remained in a sulky silence since earlier, scoffed. “Between Fenton’s wacky parents, with their ghost grudges, and Manson’s magic they’re probably the reason we’re stuck here.”

“Of course you’re right,” Star nodded enthusiastically while glaring and Sam and Tucker, who were now telling people if they would be going or not.

“They seem to know what they’re doing.”

“Whatever. But when we die, it’s all their fault.”

“I can’t die, I haven’t even kissed the ghost boy yet!” Paulina cried out.

“Then don’t do anything stupid to get yourself killed,” Sam interrupted as she stopped in front of the pair. “Not that he’ll ever kiss you anyways.”

“Like you would know, Goth freak,” Paulina spat.

“Maybe I would,” Sam countered, before staring the three up and down as if calculating their every strength and weakness. “You two can come. Paulina, you’re staying here.”

“I didn’t really want to anyways, that just means I don’t have to make my hair worse walking through that forest,” the Latina said, but Sam had already moved on to Grayson.

“What are you doing?” Grayson asked as Sam’s amethyst eyes raked over him.

“Deciding whether you’d actually be helpful out there, of it you’d just get in the way.” Sam replied casually.

“Most of you are just high schoolers, of course I’d be helpful. If you say otherwise, there’s no real reason for me to listen to you.”

“Why? Because you’re an adult? That reasons a little ridiculous. Besides, you could actually be useful.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Grayson asked, clearly insulted.

“Dude, just take it. That’s as much of a compliment as she can give,” Tucker said from behind. Grayson scowled but said nothing more as the camera moved back to the A-listers

“Great, so besides us it’s just a bunch of losers, and now _my_ hair is going to get worse,” Star sighed dejectedly.

“We can fix it when you get back,” Paulina reassured her.

“Jon’s going too,” Kwan added.

“He’s an A-lister, but he’s practically a loser,” Paulina said, and Star nodded in agreement.

“He wasn’t the one who got kicked out when Danny was dating Paulina,” Kwan said bitterly, sparking a few curious questions among the viewers, but he didn’t elaborate. But Paulina was obviously insulted, because she marched away from the group with an indignant huff. It had been a surprise to many that Paulina had stayed where she was in the first place, since that implied that she was actually willing to go back into the forest despite her assurance that she didn’t want to.

Lancer started to call the others together, and the two A-listers instantly moved to the front, probably on part from pure habit. Being high up on the high school food chain, they had to be used to standing at the head of a pack. No matter how ineffectual leaders they could really be. Star didn’t acknowledge neither Sam, nor Jon and his two followers when they joined them. Although Kwan did give a half-hearted “hey”.

Star frowned a little when Sam ended up about a step or two ahead, but didn’t protest. This time the video skipped directly ahead to when Star pointed out the bananas, since nothing of interest happened during the walk over. When Lancer called for the break, Star walked over to Grayson.

“So what company do you own?” Star asked casually.

“What?”

“You said you were here with your business partner—” A flicker of sadness crossed Grayson’s face. “­—and that implies that you both run a company. So what company do you own?”

“Why do you care?”

“I’m bored, and you’re name sounds familiar,” Star shrugged.

“Acerodon.”

“I can’t remember it. Kwan, do you know?” Star looked over at the jock.

“I don’t know. My family’s not rich, remember,” Kwan shrugged.

“Oh, yeah. I totally forgot. So what do you—”

“Damn it!”

Star’s question was cut off by Danny’s shout.

“They’re so annoying,” she muttered as Danny apologized and explained the situation.

“The weird girl?” Kwan’s question seemed to draw her attention back to the conversation

“No wonder it was so quiet,” Star sneered.

“Great, now we have to go look for those idiots,” Grayson sighed beside her. “Although I think we should just leave them to find their own way.”

Star seemed to agree with Grayson, because she was nodding and rolling her eyes at Sam’s outburst.

“I’m just saying, _we_ could get lost or hurt looking for them. And I already told you, I’m not letting some kids tell me what to do.”

“Well, you don’t have to, because Danny already went to look for them!”

“So now that kid is going to get himself killed.”

“Probably not, with the kind of stuff he gets out of,” Star laughed.

“What kind of stuff?”

“Usually ghost related stuff. You did buy his family’s tech, apparently. Didn’t even know they sold that stuff,” Kwan shrugged. “A lot of Amity’s ghost attacks happen at the school, and a lot more of those happen around Danny.”

“And none of you think that’s a little strange?” Grayson raised an eyebrow, voicing the thoughts of many viewers.

“I don’t know.”

“Not really,” Star shook her head.

“Huh,” Grayson mirrored the action, but more in disbelief. “It’s security detail, by the way.”

“What is?”

“What my company does, we train and hire out body guards, private security. Things like that.”

“Cool,” Kwan grinned.

“Okay, everyone! We’ve been resting for about ten minutes, I think, so we should start looking for food now. Don’t forget to keep an eye out for William, Ruxandera, and Daniel. And remember to stay close!”

“Ugh, let’s go. I’m hungry,” Star said. She grabbed Kwan’s wrist and started dragging him into the trees. They stopped and stared at the numerous plants. “You like nature, what do we look for?”

“I really only know the basic stuff. Names of plants and trees, not if they’re edible, unless it’s really obvious,” Kwan said sheepishly, rubbing the back of his neck.

“Okay, so what’s the obvious stuff?”

“You know, berries, dandelions, I can recognize herbs and stuff, but those aren’t that useful on their own.”

“Whatever, let’s just look. We found bananas yesterday, so who knows what there’ll be.”

Kwan nodded, and the pair started rummaging through the bushes. It was like they expected pull some leaves aside and instantly find a patch of strawberries. Considering the bananas, it was certainly possible, but highly unlikely. Letting out an annoyed sigh at another literally fruitless search, Star was reaching to brush aside a plant with long leaves, when they moved. She hesitate, then pulled the leaves back revealing…

Nothing.

Star, and the viewers with her, breathed freely in relief. Although the viewers knew something was going to happen soon. In fact, that something happened right then.

“Um, Star? Don’t move,” Kwan whispered. Partially obeying Kwan’s request, she stayed standing as she was. Slightly bent over with one hand out, but she turned her head towards him. Kwan, however, wasn’t looking in her direction. Instead he was staring straight in front of them. So Star followed suit, dragging her eyes across the ground, over the plant she had first focused on, and up towards the trees. The viewers didn’t see it at first, with its translucent green skin. If it weren’t for the way it was shifting, creeping closer and growing larger, they probably wouldn’t have noticed it at all. About two or three metres in front of Star was a large, ghostly cobra that just kept getting larger. First it was the same height as her, then it was towering over, then its head brushed some of the highest branches.

The viewers were given a quick look at the two A-listers’ expressions. Both were obviously afraid, but Star was absolutely stricken. Her whole body was shaking and her eyes were flitting about wildly.

“Ms. Deslisle, what’s wrong?” Lancer could be seen over Star’s shoulders, hidden in the trees and not within the ghostly cobra’s sightlines.

Star gave the barest shake of her head and flinched when Kwan’s hand closed around her arm. She followed his guidance and lifted her foot to step away. At the same moment, the cobra seemed to coil backwards.

“Kwan—”

When she put her foot down, it lunged. Star screamed as he was knocked to the ground by a combination of Kwan tackling her, and the cobra’s body slamming against her shoulder.

“You get the idiots, I’ll get Danny!”

“Right!”

“Come on, we gotta run!” Kwan urged, pulling Star to her feet. They were too panicked to notice that the ghostly cobra was already gone. They ran blindly, passing Tucker, and the techno-geek’s hand shot out to stop them.

“Dude, don’t _follow_ it!” He waved to the tunnel of destruction that the A-listers had been unknowingly heading for and shoved them in another direction. Tucker’s head whipped around, as if searching, and he shouted off into the trees. “Stay together!”

And then he was running too, jumped bushes and fallen trees, and ducking under low branches. He was joined moments later by Grayson. The older man couldn’t move as deftly, but his athletic abilities were fairly impressive for a businessman. Of course, now that the viewers knew what he did, maybe it wasn’t _that_ impressive. No one could be too sure about how long they were running for or how far they had ran, but eventually the four of them stopped and collapsed against a tree.

“Have we lost it?” Kwan asked, looking around as if expecting the cobra to burst from the underbrush.

“I don’t think it was actually even chasing _us_ ,” Tucker answered between pants.

“Does anyone, like, know where we are?” Star looked expectantly at the other three.

“We weren’t exactly running in a straight line,” Grayson huffed. “So no. _We_ don’t know where we are, and no one else knows where we are. But shouldn’t there be more of us?”

“Sam went to find Danny. I have no idea what happened to Lancer, and I don’t think the other three were even in the same area as us,” Tucker said.

“So what do we do now?” Kwan asked, looking instinctively to the adult of the group.

“Hey, I train bodyguards, I don’t teach wilderness survival.

“Um, shelter, I think. Yeah, Danny would probably say shelter,” Tucker nodded. “I’m pretty sure you’re all as hungry and thirsty as I am.”

The others nodded in agreement.

“So you’re probably just as tired. We sort of ate yesterday, and I think it’s… four days? No, three days. You can survive three days without food and water,” Tucker said.

“We find shelter, rest for the night, and look in the morning, basically,” Grayson summed up.

“Yeah, basically.”

They picked a random direction and started walking. As thoroughly lost as they were, the group probably couldn’t get any more lost. If anything, they could be walking back towards the beach. Again, no one could be sure how long they walked for, but in no time at all the sky in the video was getting dark. The quartet was stumbling down a rather steep slope, following the logic that water had to run down, so while looking for shelter they might as well look for that too. Star suddenly slipped, her leg sliding out from under her, and she fell forwards.

“Star!” Kwan shouted.

She didn’t fall far, just slid down for a couple of feet, but the girl was no doubt exhausted and hardly seemed to have the energy to stand.

“Please tell me there’s a five star hotel past that tree,” Star grumbled as Kwan helped her up.

“Not really, but it’ll do,” Tucker said, beckoning the others towards him. The tree Star had griped at was a strong looking oak, and from what the viewers could tell, it was sitting on what had once been a flat outcropping on the slope. But the earth under it had fallen away, meaning that there was a natural shelter made from the thick roots that held the tree straight. Without hesitation Tucker crawled inside, scooting back as far as he could. There appeared to be lots of room for the others. Kwan shrugged and followed suit on the opposite side.

“It’s no five star hotel,” Grayson smirked in Star’s direction, and he too settled underneath the roots.

“Foley, if I wake up covered in spiders and bugs, I swear,” Star left her threat open to interpretation as she slid beside Kwan, pushing him over a little to sit on the outside. “And don’t get any ‘bright’ ideas.”

“Hey! Tucker Foley has class!”

“No you don’t, geek, shut up.” 

* * *

Star was grumbling, tugging her fingers through her hair and doing her best to remove the dirt, twigs, and leaves. She glared openly at Tucker, no doubt blaming him for the state of her blonde locks. Kwan looked to still be waking up, blinking frequently and yawning, while Grayson was brushing off his suit. Which, considering the circumstances, was still in pretty good shape. He had discarded his jacket at some point, and the white dress shirt was stained with dirt, but it was still relatively neat.

“You said we’re finding food?” Kwan asked as he rose to his feet.

“Hopefully,” Tucker nodded.

“How are we going to get back to the beach?”

Tucker blinked, staring at Kwan, then slapped himself. “Of course, the beach!”

“Foley, it’s too early for shouting, what are talking about?” Star asked, working at a particularly tangled section of hair.

“How we’re going to get back to the plane! No one actually said anything, but you were all thinking it, right? Well, the beach, that’s all we need. Once we get to the beach, if we just follow it then we’ll eventually get back,” Tucker exclaimed.

“Okay, but what about food?”

“Water’s more important, I think, and Kwan! You had that run-off thing, right? If there’s a large source of water, it’s going to run off into the ocean. It’s simple. We follow the beach, and then if we find some kind of run-off, we get water from there.”

“And if it’s salt water?” Grayson asked with a raised brow.

“Um, then we follow it inland? Waterways usually connect, and salt water river usually turn into fresh water once far enough inland. And food… we just won’t walk _on_ the beach. We stay in the trees a little, and while we’re walking we can look around. That works, right?” Tucker was obviously excited. His eyes gleamed behind his glasses and, if he were a couple years younger, he would probably be bouncing.

“And what direction do we go?”

“Oh. Um, good question,” Tucker chuckled, then looked up to the sky. It was still a little dark, with the sun hovering over the pink tinged horizon. “Does anyone know where the sun rose from the plane?”

“I think you could see it through the windows, from the side with the door,” Star answered, scrunching up her nose as she thought.

“Which means that was east, which is that way. Basically we need to go any direction except for north until we reach the beach, and from there we head south,” Tucker grinned. “One more question. Anyone have any idea about which direction we ran in when the cobra came?”

They all exchanged glances, thinking back to the events of the previous day. It was highly unlikely that, at the time, they were paying attention to where the sun ones when compared to where they were running.

“That’s where we were heading, right?” Kwan offered, pointing in the general direction they were walking the previous day.

“North-west,” Grayson said, looking from the sun to Kwan. “With any luck that means we’ll be closer to the western edge of the island.

“Cool, dude! Then we go this way,” Tucker spun around and started walking with the sun, which was just barely visible through the leaves, at his back.

“Pff, who says only Danny can do this leader thing? It isn’t so hard,” he said to himself as the others started following, completely oblivious the conversation being held behind him.

“Why do the losers keep leading?” Star asked.

“I don’t know, no one else really is,” Kwan shrugged. “And I thought you didn’t want to listen to a bunch of teenagers.”

“I don’t, but we’re not dead yet, so I guess I will for now,” Grayson answered. Star and Kwan exchanged glances as Grayson jogged ahead to catch up with Tucker. With a sigh, Star followed and Kwan was right behind her.


	10. Profiles - part 2

_Welcome to **Amity** **117** chat forum_

**_KingArthur_ has logged in**

**_CirqueDuPineapple_ has logged in**

**_LordOfMud_ has logged in**

**_Fantomo_ has logged in**

**_LordOfMud:_ ** Itz sort of like a TV show…

 ** _CirqueDuPineapple:_** Didn’t that one chick already say that?

 ** _LordOfMud:_** Yeah, but think about it! Each vid iz an episode, and now we’re watching the same day from different pointz of view, totally like a TV show!

 ** _KingArthur:_** Lord isn’t wrong, it does look like it

 ** _KingArthur:_** Anyone know of any movie/ TV loving ghosts?

 ** _Fantomo:_** Not really. There’s this one kid ghost that just watches TV all day, but he’s not powerful

 ** _LordOfMud:_** Ooh, cooool. Never heard of him, is he on the newz?

 ** _Fantomo:_** No. He just hangs out in his lair all day

 ** _LordOfMud:_** Double cool. What’s a lair

 ** _Fantomo:_** Um… it’s just a ghost thing

**_Mud-Of-Solitude_ has logged in**

**_Mud-Of-Solitude:_** What do you guys think will happen now that they’re separated?

 ** _LordOfMud:_** Hey, wherez Fallout? I bet they’d say Everyone Will Find Each Other And All Will Be Well!!

 ** _LordOfMud:_** Hahaha XP

 ** _Fantomo:_** They could find each other

 ** _LordOfMud:_** They _could_ , but they probably _won’t_

 ** _KingArthur:_** Tucker seems to know what he’s doing. They’re heading to the beach. If Danny is as good as we think, he’ll probably make it back

 ** _Mud-Of-Solitude:_** What about those guys that fell down the flipping hole?

 ** _LordOfMud:_** I bet they won’t make it

 ** _Fantomo:_** Hey! These are _real_ people, not just TV show characters. I _know_ some of these people

 ** _LordOfMud:_** I’m just bein’ honest

 ** _Fantomo:_** Well, you don’t have too

 ** _LordOfMud:_** Sheesh, fine. Only if you get me GB’s autograph

 ** _Fantomo:_** O.o

 ** _Fantomo:_** You do know he doesn’t just standing around giving out autographs, right? He’s basically an outlaw to the police

 ** _LordOfMud:_** Really??? What’d he doooo?

 ** _Fantomo:_** He didn’t do anything except what he’s always done, save people!

 ** _LordOfMud:_** Ooh, touchy. Anyone else know?

 ** _KingArthur:_** Last year, when people finally accepted ghosts. There was that one massive attack by those three ghosts? A king, a knight, and a vampire. There was that asteroid, an army of ghosts, attempted world domination. That kind of thing.

 ** _Mud-Of-Solitude_** : I remember that

 ** _KingArthur:_** Phantom and a bunch of other ghosts fought against them and won, but there was this hotel that the king guy tried to use as leverage. Phantom and the others did stop momentarily, but the king killed everyone anyways. Once the ghosts were defeated, there wasn’t actually anyone for the government to blame for the massive deaths, so they pinned it on Phantom and his friends. Everyone knows it wasn’t him, and wasn’t his fault, but he’s considered a criminal now

 ** _LordOfMud:_** Huh. I didn’t know that. Still, though, autograph?

 ** _Fantomo:_** … you know what, sure, I’ll try if I ever see him again

 ** _LordOfMud:_** Awesome!!! XD

 ** _Mud-Of-Solitude:_** Do we have those other three profiles?

 ** _KingArthur:_** Yes, thank you for asking!

 ** _KingArthur_** **has sent a FILE**

_FILE :external import: [DYLAN_REEVES]_

**Name:** Dylan Reeves

 **Age:** 17

 **Appearance:** Brown hair, green eyes, a little overweight

**Outside sources:**

Only child

Apparently always paranoid

**Video reveals:**

Paranoid and jumpy

Has glasses

Basic survival knowledge

Observant

Military parents

 

 ** _Fantomo:_** That’s it?

 ** _KingArthur:_** There wasn’t a lot of information, or at least useful information

 ** _LordOfMud:_** What useless info waz there?

 ** _KingArthur:_** He eats a lot of peaches

 ** _Mud-Of-Solitude:_** … How would we even know that?

 ** _KingArthur:_** Magic

 ** _LordOfMud:_** Riiiiiiiight…

**_YourFather_ has logged in**

**_KingArthur_** : The next two profiles are a little sparse as well

 ** _YourFather:_** I am YourFather!

**_KingArthur_ has sent a FILE**

_FILE :external import: [JONATHON_MARX]_

**Name:** Jonathon Marx

 **Age:** 18

 **Appearance:** Dark hair, blue eyes

**Outside sources:**

Parents are divorced, dad is a doctor

**Video reveals:**

A-list girls toy with him

Suspicious of others (or maybe that’s just Danny)

Seems kind of moody, but nice, a little impatient

Basketball player

A nice jock

Looks (?) and acts (?) like Casey’s cousin

 

 ** _LordOfMud:_** Iz anyone else getting weird feeling about the couzin thing?

 ** _Fantomo:_** What’s wrong with cousins?

 ** _LordOfMud:_** Nothin really, but a bunch of stuff is going on, and the couzin thing feelz important. Whadda you think, Peasant?

 ** _Mud-Of-Solitude:_** Not a peasant, and that doesn’t really seem important. I’m a little more concerned about how they’re going to get back together and get off the dang island

 ** _CirqueDuPineapple:_** Is it actually even an island?

 ** _Mud-Of-Solitude:_** What?

 ** _CirqueDePineapple:_** Just think, we’ve only had one aerial shot that focused on the plane. We don’t know if this is actually just an island. We assume it is because we think they were flying in the middle of the ocean, but anything could have happened after that lightning struck.

 ** _KingArthur:_** You have a good point

 ** _LordOfMud:_** I still think it’z an island

 ** _YourFather:_** I am YourFather!

 ** _Fantomo:_** Whose profile is next?

**_KingArthur_ sent a FILE**

_FILE :external import: [CASEY_JONES]_

**Name:** Casey Jones

 **Age:** 24

 **Appearance:** Red hair and brown eyes

**Outside sources:**

Has a boyfriend

No known relatives

**Video reveals:**

Flight attendant/ cabin attendant. This was her first flight

Timid maybe? Could be crash nerves

She has a cousin that’s similar to Jon

 

 ** _LordOfMud:_** So we’ve said this about a few profiles, but daaaamn that’z empty! How d’you even know their agez?

 ** _KingArthur:_** Technology is a wonderful thing. And people on Facebook are fairly lax about the information they share

 ** _CirqueDuPineapple:_ ** Then why is it so empty?

 ** _KingArthur:_** Casey Jones is not lax

 ** _LordOfMud:_** That soundz so dirty

 ** _Fantomo:_** So do you

 ** _LordOfMud:_** Did you… did you just make a pun out of my name?

 ** _Fantomo:_** You need to look up what a pun is. But I did make a joke of it, runs in the family

 ** _CirqueDuPineapple:_** You _think_ she’s timid? And crash nerves? That’s the best you’ve got?

 ** _Mud-Of-Solitude:_** Those were all the profiles, right?

 ** _KingArthur:_ ** Not yet. I tossed one together for the teacher

**_KingArthur_ sent a FILE**

_FILE :external import: [EDWARD_LANCER]_

**Name:** Edward Lancer

 **Age:**?

 **Appearance:** Bald, overweight, goatee. Teacherly

**Outside sources:**

English teacher and vice principal

**Video reveals:**

Uses book titles as swears

Smart, but also not smart?

Very lame, totally ruins slang

He’d die first in a horror movie

 

 ** _LordOfMud:_** He would totally die first!

 ** _Mud-Of-Solitude:_** How do you know that?

 ** _Fantomo:_** He followed the trail. You never follow the trail

 ** _LordOfMud:_** Word.

 ** _Fantomo:_** And I thought Tucker was lame.

 ** _Fantomo_** **has logged out**

 ** _CirqueDuPineapple:_** Hey, I’ve got a question. If Phantom is wanted because of all those dead people, why don’t more people know about it?

 ** _KingArthur:_** Government conspiracy. It’s all a government conspiracy

 ** _Mud-Of-Solitude:_** Um, what?

 ** _KingArthur:_** There’s a blog post about it, look it up.

 ** _Mud-Of-Solitude:_** Right.

 ** _YourFather:_** I am YourFather!

 ** _KingArthur:_** Send me Grayson, Star, Will and Rux next

 ** _LordOfMud:_** You got it, my liege

**_LordOfMud_ has logged out**

**_Mud-Of-Solitude:_** Sure

**_Mud-Of-Solitude_ has logged out**

**_CirqueDuPineapple_ has logged out**

**_KingArthur_ has logged out**

**_YourFather:_ ** Oh, come on!

**_YourFather_ has logged out**


	11. Inner Dan

The camera was focused on Danny, Sam, and Tucker as they spoke in hushed tones at the back of the plane. Over the seat shoulders, Mikey could be seen shuffling down the aisle. Beyond him, Dylan, Jon and Casey were gathere at the door to the cockpit.

"Dude, what were you doing last night?" Tucker asked.

"You were awake?" Danny glanced at his friend, although he didn't sound surprised at all.

"Don't pretend you didn't know so that we'll feel better about our inferior senses." Sam rolled her eyes.

"I don't know, it's just..." Danny ran a hand through his hair. "There was that thing, with Desiree, and Tucker you-"

" _I_ was a total idiot," Tucker interrupted. "Now shut up and tell us what happened."

"You're still an idiot, he can't do both," Sam smirked, then motioned for Danny to continue.

"Airplanes are equipped with a black box. During a plane crash it records the last thing heard in the cockpit, and when it gets wet it sends out a signal that can be traced to the plane's location. Although it isn't always successful," Danny explained.

"So someone can pick up the signal and find us? That's great!" Tucker grinned and raised a hand for a high-five.

"No it's not," Danny frowned and shook his head.

"Why not?" Sam asked before Tucker could butt in.

"Something isn't right with the island, I don't think the signal will be transmitting properly. Besides, you've seen what happens when planes go missing. There's no gaurantee we'll be found anyways," Danny sighed. Sam and Tucker shared a look before the techno-geek changed the subject.

"How're you gonna find out what's wrong?"

"I need to explore the island, but someone might notice if I just leave for a couple days."

"And you need a reason to go? That's easy, collecting food. We have to do that anyways," Sam shrugged.

"Exactly. But if we leave it to Lancer, he'll just let everyone go off on their own. Which technically works in my favour, but is a really bad idea for the others," Danny said.

"You have an idea?" Tucker asked.

"Yeah."

"And you'll get him to agree?"

"Yep."

"So after Lancer talks to everyone?"

"Yeah, it'll probably happen soon."

While viewers were glad to finally know what the trio had been conversing about in previous videos, many felt begrudged at the fact that they would once again have to view the day's events before the seperation. They were prepared for the tail end of the conversation to continue from where they picked it up, but were instead pleasantly surprised when the scene changed. The camera was now looking out over the beach and in its focus was Rux and Will.

"Who's the main character?" Will asked, nudging Rux expectantly. She started tugging on some of her longer strands of hair, staring intently at the crowd gathered on the beach.

"Him," Rux nodded towards the plane, where Danny was slipped by Jon, Dylan, and Casey. She followed him with her eyes until he stopped beside Lancer.

"Why him?

"Because he has secrets," Rux explained.

"Everyone has secrets," Will said, and the look he gave his friend seemed meaningful.

"Right, but- hold on a second," Rux paused, holding up a hand to silence Will, even though it didn't look like he was going to say anything.

"So what are you three suggesting we do?"

"Pray to Cas!" Rux shouted, folding her hand in front of her chest. She grinned at the odd looks cast her way.

"Um, no," Danny shook his head. "One group goes out _together_ to look for food and water. Decreases risk of predator attacks, more people to help out in a tight situation. Right, Will?"

"Yeah, pretty much," Will shrugged, then turned to a smiling Rux.

"But I think he has the most secrets."

"The main character usually doesn't have secrets, they uncover them. You know who has secrets? The mysterious mentor, and the bad guy," Will reminded. Both young adults were watching as Danny approached them.

"You forgot one. The hero with the secret identity. Kid! What's up?" Rux patted the sand beside her and motioned for Danny to sit. He complied and there were several seconds of silence where Rux just stared at him.

"The angels would never catch you," she said.

"Angels?" Danny asked.

"The angels, with the phone box, they'd never catch you. You don't blink enough, and I'm pretty sure you're watching everything," Rux explained, although it didn't make sense for a lot of people watching.

"I personally think I don't watch enough." Danny let out a mirthless chuckle.

"I don't know, kid. You just can't seem to look away from the trees."

Throughout the conversation, Will was tracing his palm similar to how he did in the second video.

"We'll be coming with you," Will mumbled.

"Yes, we'll be coming with you!" Rux repeated exuberantly. "It's the starting adventure, after the initial crisis. I don't wanna miss it since that Jon kid has already messed with the pattern."

"Story pattern," Will explained before Danny could ask.

"Right." Danny nodded, then looked to Lancer who was calling for everyone to gather togther. He stood up and brushed the sand off of his legs. "Then let's go, so you don't miss it."

* * *

The group of food gatherers were trudging through the forest, or jungle. The specific title was up for interpretation based on current surrounding foliage. Rux and Will were at the back, walking several paces behind. Rux would occasionally stop and stare at some form of pretty flower, intricate leaf, or strange tree. Will would stop with her, then pull her along when the group got too far ahead. Everyone was waiting for the moment when Will would forget to pull her back, or Rux would ignore him just long enough that the group would disappear from view, but it didn't happen.

Will was actually the one who split off from the group. Rux was tugging on his sleeve and pointing towards a black flower when he pulled away and started walking into the trees.

"Will!" Rux whisper shouted after him, gaze shifting between the disappearing backs of their group and her friend. "Will! That's fourteen metres, too far!"

She started tugging her hair again and groaned before taking off after Will. "You're making me miss the adventure!"

Will continued to ignore her, seemingly oblivious. The camera zoomed ahead and spun around so that instead of following Rux, it was in front of Will. His eyes appeared to be glazed over and focused on some point above the camera. Rux was jogging behind him, quickly catching up and skipping over any tangled brush that tugged at her heels. She finally reached him and dropped both her hands onto his shoulders.

"Hilda'll kill be if I lose you," Rux said.

"Does this mean I can call you Fakku?" Will asked, snapping out of his reverie.

"No, it means you can say 'gah' and nothing else." Rux grinned and Will gave her a bemused smile. "So where are we going?"

"What do you mean?"

"I was just following the leader, so lead on." Rux gestured to the trees ahead.

"I... I don't- I wasn't..." Will shook his head and looked around. This part of the forest looked just as confusing and wild as any other. "Where are we going?"

Rux looked around as well, rather casually. She placed her hands on her hips and tipped her head back to look up at the sky, which was just visibile through the leaves. Her head snapped back down and she looked at Will with a wicked gleam in her eye.

"We're going on an adventure."

* * *

"What the hell? Of course we're going to look for them, they could be hurt or lost!" Sam was shouting at Grayson. Behind her, Danny and Tucker shared a look.

"Tuck?"

"Go ahead, dude." Tucker nodded and Danny gave Sam a quick tap on the shoulder before slipping away from the arguing group. As he stepped into the treeline, the voices abruptly faded. The people watching expected Danny to trace their steps back along the path and start from there. Instead he furrowed his brow in concentration and closed his eyes. When he opened them again, their seemed to be a weak flash, but many waved it off as a trick of the light. Danny's gaze settled on some point far off in the trees and he started walking with a confident stride, althoug his face was set in a grimace.

"You better not be dead when I find you," Danny sighed and pushed a branch out of his path. The video skipped ahead, although for how long no one could say. Danny was still walking straight ahead, his gaze never wavering, when he suddenly whipped around and looked back the way he came. He stood still for several long seconds before continuing on his way.

"You're separating us," Danny said, breaking the silence of the forest. The camera moved around in front of him and he ended up staring directly into it. It was unnerving for those watching. It also proved two theories. Danny knew the cameras were there, or he at least knew _something_ was there. It also proved that Danny Fenton was far from normal. Now they just had to find out who he was talking to.

"You want us to find the people you took." It didn't really make sense to those watching, how Danny came to that conclusion. With the confirmation that the group's separation wasn't a chance event most people assumed it was because the ghost responsible wanted them to die.

"You also don't want them to discover the truth, not yet." Danny stopped walking and leaned towards the camera. "I told you, the real you, to come find me. Not these things you're sending after us. With that black box in water, someone is bound to find the signal eventually. It doesn't matter where in the infinite realms your hiding us. They'll probably discover my secret eventually, no matter how much I wish it won't happen. When it does happen, I think I'll get in touch with my inner Dan."

Danny smirked at the camera as it zipped backwards to a relatively safe distance, then started walking again. He raised his right arm, waving at the camera as he passed. The strips of cloth wrapped around the limb slipped slightly, revealing some of the ravaged skin beneath.

"You should also know that in this state, _I_ can't starve."

* * *

It was dark underneath the trees. Rux and Will were sitting back to back, althoug Rux was slumped over slightly. There were a few torn vines scattered around them and their lips looked freshly wet, so they had managed to find a source of water.

"Will, I'm hungry."

But apparently not good.

"Go eat a dandelion."

"There aren't any."

"Dandelions are everywhere."

"Everywhere but here," Rux whined, although she was smiling. They both looked a little rough around the edges but could be in worse condition. Overall they looked rather content with the situation.

"I'm curious, how come you're not the main character?" Will asked, bringing up their earlier conversation. "Don't most people want to be the main character?"

"You should know by now that I'm not most people," Rux snickered and bumped her head against Will's. "I'm fine being a side story in this particular show. The minor adventure used to fill time while the real story moves forward."

"I'm gonna tell Haley you said that when we get back," Will said. Rux let out an offended gasp and spun around.

"You wouldn't!"

"I will."

"Randall to my T.J.," Rux grumbled and sat back down. Will nodded and they both closed their eyes to go to sleep. Instead of skipping ahead to morning, time in the video sped up. Almost ironically, Rux seemed to be a very still sleeper. She hardly moved throughout the night and only fell onto her side because Will seemed to be constantly moving. No one watching noticed the moment when he arrived, but as sunlight started leaking through the trees at rapid speed, Danny could be seen sitting at the edge of the screen. His legs were crossed and he was leaning forwards slightly. It looked like he was asleep, but the abrupt way he opened his eyes when the sunlight fell across them said otherwise. Although considering his actions in the first video, maybe he just always woke up like that.

Rux was visibly surprised to see him when she woke up, and the video slowed to normal time. But she recovered quickly and stretched out like a cat.

"Hey, kid. What brings you to this neck of the woods?"

Danny gave her a loaded look in response.

"Oh. Then I guess you succeeded. Snorlax, wake up!" Rux's foot lashed out and struck Will in the shoulder. While she succeeded in rousing her friend, she also ended up hurting both of them. When Rux kicked Will she agitated her injured ankle, and struck a large bruise on his shoulder from the crash. They both gasped in pain and shot upright.

"Careful, your injured," Danny said with a wry grin.

"Thanks, kid. I'll remember that. So now what, we go back to the others? Because I'm totally lost," Rux said, and Will was nodding in agreement.

"First, I want to know why you left."

"Will walked away, I played follow the leader," Rux shrugged and turned to her friend.

"Don't know, I can't remember." Will said with a steady gaze. Danny's eyes narrowed and he frowned.

"Why did you leave?" He repeated.

"No idea."

" _Why did you leave?_ "

"Someone told me to," Will blurted out. He blinked in surprised and looked to Rux. "I don't remember that."

Danny nodded. "Makes sense. We should regroup with the others."

Without waiting for confirmation, Danny stood up and started heading off into the trees. The entire exchange had been an odd one. The viewers didn't think Will was lying when he said he didn't remember, so why did Danny not believe him? It seemed that everything the raven-haired boy did only raised more questions instead of answering them.

"Come on, let's go. Adventure awaits!" Rux proclaimed and jumped to her feet. Will followed at a slower pace, shaking his head and keeping his eyes down. Instead of keeping on the new group, the camera zoomed past them through the trees. It focused on Sam, who was leaning against a tree, before continuing. For a brief moment viewers were able to glimpse a large hole at the base of a tree until the camera veered away. The movements were erratic and the scenery passed in a blur. They were shown Lancer, still following the ghost snake's trail, then Tucker, Star, and Kwan who were heading West.

The camera must have travelled the entire width of the island by the time the beach was visible. It followed the strip of sand around the island until the plane was visible, along with the people that had been left behind. It had taken no longer than twenty seconds for all of this to happen, but time in the video had once again been accelerating because the sun was nearing its peak in the sky.

Valerie was sitting on the beach, looking over her makshift cast of metal rods and ripped cloth. Leo was standing in the middle of the suitcase pile, digging through everything that had been deemed unnecessary while Kay watched from nearby. Paulina and Andy were standing a few feet from the treeline, while everyone else was out of sight.

"Danny and the others should have been back by now," Andy said.

"They should have been back last night, I'm _starving_ ," Paulina groaned.

"We're all hungry, but not starving yet," Andy corrected.

"Would you go find some food for me?" Paulina clasped her hands together and batted her eyelashes, a move that many adolescents watching would have fallen for. And, however, seemed immune.

"You're in better shape then I am, and you really aren't my type. That kind of stuff won't work," Andy scoffed.

Paulina huffed and crossed her arms. "If they aren't back tonight, someone has to go get food."

"You do realize that only five of us are fit to go look for food?" Andy looked pointedly back at Val and Leo. "Of those five, one has a daughter to look after, bringing our numbers down to four. Danny did say higher numbers were better, so if someone goes, you're going too."

"No way, I'm not going in there," Paulina protested. "My hair will get caught in the branches, then it'll be ruined."

"Paulina?"

"What, loser?"

"Just admit that you're scared."

Paulina's mouth snapped shut and she shifted her gaze down to her feet. Andy looked at her a moment longer, then walked away.

 


	12. Profiles - part 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TIME PASSED IRL: 11 days
> 
> DAY REACHED IV (in videos): start of day 3

_Welcome to **Amity 117** chat forum_

**_KingArthur_ has logged in**

**_KingArthur_ has sent 3 FILES**

_FILE :external import: [ANDY_DE_SOUZA]_

**Name** : Anderson De Souza

 **Age** : 17

 **Appearance:** Brown hair and eyes

**Outside sources:**

Has a younger sibling

Bad grades

Average social status

Parents own a clinic (probably has medical knowledge

**Video reveals:**

Flirts with Danny (sort of)

Logical/ technical thinker

_FILE :external import: [RICK_GRAYSON]_

**Name:** Richard Grayson

 **Age:** 54

 **Appearance:** Gray. Very Gray.

**Outside sources:**

Billionaire, inherited a large tech company from his adoptive father

Not married

Has a black belt in martial arts

**Video reveals:**

His business partner died

Very private, detached

Was going to Amity for a meeting

Doesn’t like having to listen to teenagers

Owns Acerodon, works security detail and trains body guards

_FILE :external import: [STAR_DELISLE]_

**Name:** Jenna Delisle

 **Age:** 17

 **Appearance:** Blonde hair, brown eyes

**Outside sources:**

Cheerleader

Her older sister was a model

 

**Video reveals:**

Very blunt

Doesn’t like her name

Likes teasing Jon

Good at climbing

Cares about image

Rude to non-A-Listers

Rich family

 

 ** _KingArthur:_** These are the latest profiles. To anyone entering the chat at any time today: we will discuss next time, the king is needed elsewhere! Just send me whatever you can find on whoever we haven’t made profiles for yet, and I’ll pick and choose.

 ** _KingArthur:_** And read that conspiracy article I told you about!

**_KingArthur_ has logged out**


	13. The Phantom Conspiracy

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This blog post was made before the events of this story started, so any mentions of Vlad don't reference his current status in Amity Park while Danny is away

**|Blog post**

**|Date: XX/XX/XXXX**

**|By: Haley Wilkes**

**THE PHANTOM CONSPIRACY**

 

Ghosts have always been one of the greatest supernatural mysteries, you either believed in them or you didn’t. Or that’s how it used to be. Four years ago strange happenings started to occur around the small Minnesota city of Amity Park (now called AP for the rest of the article). Now considered one of the most haunted cities across the country, ghost sightings spiked drastically that year and have only increased since then. That year also marks the first appearance of a certain ghost known around the world as Danny Phantom, a hero and protector. Before last summer, news of ghost sightings and attacks in AP had spread around the world, but many people remained adamant that ghosts were a thing of myth, even when such attacks became a national event.

But all that changed last summer. Last summer the world at large finally acknowledged ghosts as real entities that can no longer be ignored. This acknowledgement was spurred on by the widespread attack of three ghosts in particular. Through my connections, I have identified said ghosts by their real names. The Fright Knight, Vlad Plasmius, and Pariah Dark. All three ghosts are familiar figures in AP. But just in case you haven’t been cursed with the chance of meeting these particular spooks, allow me to shed some light on who they are.

The Fright Knight (hereby referred to as Knight) is a ghost straight out of legend, haunting what could be considered the holiday of spectres, Halloween. According to my source, Knight wields a sword, title the Soul Shredder, which has the ability to send whomever is struck with it to a dimension where their worst fears come true. But he is not indomitable. Knight’s weakness is said to be pumpkins, according to this old rhyme:

_To cease the storm,_

_to end the fear,_

_the sword must sheath_

_in pumpkin near._

The second member of this ghostly trio is more elusive. Vlad Plasmius (nicknamed Plas from here on out) is a name known by few. He’s been seen around AP many times, but doesn’t boldly attack like many other malevolent spirits. I have a theory on why he does this, but that isn’t relative to this matter. Plas has been known to face up against the town hero, Danny Phantom, many times. In Phantom’s earlier years Plas the was more powerful ghost out of the two, but now I have reason to believe that they’re actually on par in terms of strength. Through my research I’ve also been able to learn that Plas considers himself and Phantom to be a lot alike. But again, that’s for another theory.

The name Pariah Dark means nothing to the living, which is why no secondary name will be required, but resonates deeply with the ghostly residents of the world. I’ve interviewed several ghosts and learned that he is the self-declared King of Ghosts, and was once ruled the ghostly realm, known as the Ghost Zone, through a dictatorship. He was defeated and sealed away by a band of powerful ghosts. Two years ago he was released, and attempted to take over the human world, starting with AP. Knight actually serves Pariah Dark, along with an army of skeletal ghosts, and assisted with the capture of AP. Plas was present for the ordeal as well, but I was unable to determine whether he was fighting with Pariah or against him. If he wasn’t then, he definitely was last summer.

There are several titles people have given to what took place, but for safety’s sake I’ll just call it the Event. You’ll understand my caution soon enough. It’s for this same reason that I’m avoiding the use of specific dates and generic search engine phrases. Have you ever bothered to search for ‘last summer’ with any additional tags? If you have, then you’ll know that your browser fills with hits from the novel ‘I Know What You Did Last Summer’ by Lois Duncan (or the related movie). If you care enough about this conspiracy, you’ll find this post. Which you obviously have, so good for you!

I’m sure many of you reading this are familiar with the Event, but I’ll regale you with the gruesome tale anyways. It would do you well to have the events fresh in your mind while reading this. The Event began when Knight released his master from his confines (reportedly titled the Sarcophagus of Forever Sleep). The exact date of Pariah’s release is unknown, because he did not reveal himself right away to the world. I suspect that he instead sought assistance from a likely ally that could help to prevent the failure of his previous attempt. This ally was Plas. Unless you speak to one of the three ghosts yourself, it’s impossible to know what deal was struck between them, but we all know that it fell through in the end. I’ll be getting to that later.

When Pariah, Knight, and Plas revealed themselves to the public, their plan was already underway. Again, no one can know what their complete intentions were, but it doesn’t take a lot of thought to realize it had to be related in some way to world domination, and revenge. The dark trio made the strategic move of showing themselves not in AP, a city accustomed to ghostly presences and filled with trigger happy ghost hunters and a valiant hero, but instead appeared individually in three of the largest cities in the world.

Fun fact, those cities are Tokyo, New York, and Sao Paulo.

In those cities they preached about the existence of ghosts, and boasted Pariah’s incredible power. Pariah demanded global submission in exchange for the lives of everyone on Earth. This moment, broadcasted several times over around the world, was when ghosts could no longer by denied. At the time the Guys (you know who I’m talking about, I won’t call them by name) were still a secret organization with some level of secrecy. Although apparently the vast majority of AP knew of their existence, but that really shouldn’t be a surprise. When Pariah made his threat, the Guys stepped forwards, officially proving their existence. If you’ve read my blog before, then you may have seen THE GHOST CONSPIRACY, which I posted several years ago in retaliation to the silencing of news from AP before ghosts were accepted globally, and thoroughly discussed the Guys.

With the Guys out in the open, the gathered together the world’s greatest ghost hunters to start a veritable war against Pariah and his followers. Pariah’s threat had been acknowledged, but citizens of the world remained hopeful that he could be defeated when he only had other ghosts backing him up. After all, AP dealt with ghosts every single day.

But when the world didn’t submit, Plas revealed that he had an asteroid, almost half the size of Earth, which was rocketing towards us, and only he had the resources to stop it. World leaders and ghost experts were quick to meet and discuss our options, which were very limited at the time. Nearing the end of the three day summit, Danny Phantom himself appeared in Switzerland where it was being held, and revealed that he, along with hundreds of other ghosts, had eliminated the asteroid. How they managed it is a mystery to those of us stuck on the ground, but the point is that they succeeded, and Pariah’s threat was now empty. Mostly.

Pariah became enraged and tried to take the Earth anyways, but his armies were subdued and his lieutenant defeated. Most of the world considered Pariah defeated at this point, and for this reason some people are oblivious to what happened next. The tyrannical ruler had merely been cornered, and like every cornered animal, he lashed out. He, with his few remaining soldiers, had taken a hotel in Las Vegas hostage. Pariah couldn’t have the world, yet, but he could start with the United States. With the people trapped in the hotel as leverage, Pariah threatened to kill them all if Phantom and his allies continued to fight, and if the president didn’t resign and hand the country over to him. Phantom _did_ stop fighting when the threat was issued, but the hotel was destroyed anyways, and most of the people inside were killed. There were only a handful of survivors.

With no hostages to keep safe by abstaining, Phantom continued his assault with double his original efforts. He also had the assistance of Plas, who seemed to have a change of heart. I believe that Plas never intended for anyone to die during their scheme, and when Pariah killed his hostages anyways, the vampiric ghost switched sides. Pariah was officially subdued and once again locked away.

When you think about it, Pariah’s victory was almost assured the moment Phantom stopped attacking. If the president didn’t make a decision to resign right away, then Pariah could have amassed his army once again and increased his number of hostages, further improving his chances. Instead he killed his hostages and ensured his defeat.

But the real question is, did he kill them?

The most obvious reason for him not to have performed the deed is the reason stated above. Pariah would have won of he stayed his hand a little longer. But it’s not the only reason. How would you expect a ghost to destroy a building? Presumably with a strong ectoplasmic attack. But that’s not how the hotel was destroyed. There is only one copy of hard evidence that shows the building exploding, having been recorded by the phone of a nearby vacationer touring the city. On the video the explosion is characterized with smoke and fire, something you won’t find in an ectoplasmically charged explosion. Residue of ectoplasm was also found on the scene by the Guys afterwards, but even that doesn’t make sense.

The general public lacks knowledge on how ectoplasm work, so allow me to enlighten you. Ectoplasm is the chief element that makes up the core of a ghost, it’s their blood and bones. Pure ectoplasm can be extracted from a ghost and kept in a liquid state with proper treatment, but that is a delicate and lengthy process. Unless pure ectoplasm has been tampered with, treated, or altered in form, it should evaporate within a few hours. This includes any residue left by a ghosts ectoplasm attacks.

The Guys lied about finding those samples, and instead planted them themselves. They were hoping to take advantage of the ignorance of the common citizen, but it won’t fool me. Now you may be thinking why the Guys would need to plant evidence pointing to Pariah when anyone who knows about happened should already be blaming him. This is because the Guys were actually the ones to blow up the hotel.

While the Guys are a government agency, their previous secret status has altered their command protocol and allowed them to take a few liberties, such as going around powerful government figures when making important decisions. I don’t believe the president himself knew about what really transpired. The Guys understood that Pariah would win if things continued the way they were going at the time. They also knew that Phantom, having defeated Pariah once before, was capable of taking him down again. Key members of the Guys made the decision to destroy the hotel themselves and eliminate the hostages, eliminating the factor holding Phantom back. From there, they could sit back and watch until the fight was over.

I mentioned earlier that most of the world outside the Nevada area doesn’t know about Pariah’s involvement with the hotel’s destruction. But there were witnessed within the city who saw Phantom fighting in the area, and that became headline news.

Those who know about Phantom’s history know that he had a rocky start in AP, since many people believe that ghosts are inherently evil, and that Phantom couldn’t be any different. The Guys are no exception and consider Phantom to be one of their top targets. When more people started to side with Phantom, they couldn’t pursue him as much and instead had to stop because of public opinion. The Guys decided to take advantage of Phantom’s Nevada sightings and manipulated the media to tie his appearance to the destruction of the hotel. This way the government had a (most of the time) tangible figure to blame for the massive deaths, since they couldn’t pursue Pariah, and they’ve always wanted to capture Phantom.

Most people still see Phantom as a hero, but since the Guys now have records that link Phantom to the explosion, the ghost boy has become a high profile target and they can officially start hunting him again, regardless of what the public thinks.

After reading this, you may decide to go look up the Event and the hotel in Las Vegas. Let me save you the trouble, you won’t find anything. After the initial media burst, the Guys eliminated any hard evidence of the Event and the destruction of the hotel was blamed on a combination of an earthquake and a gas main brake. The only thing that remains now are our memories, and this post. _This_ is why I’ve done nothing to make this post searchable. It won’t be caught by any Guys filters and they can’t take it down.

Phantom saved the world, and the Guys killed hundreds of people. Now Phantom is considered a criminal by the government, and too few people know the truth!

This is the Phantom Conspiracy. Spread the word, let the truth be heard, and let the Guys face judgement for what they’ve done and end ghost oppression.

#GhostsArePeopleToo


	14. Purple Genie

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Time passed IRL: 13 days  
> Day reached IV: end of day 3

With the speedy release of three videos in one day, everyone had been hopeful that the pace would continue. Many were a little more than dismayed when, the next day, no new videos appeared online. Their hopes were spurred again when the day after that, the next video was finally released.

The camera was angled down, looking into the same hole that could be glimpsed briefly at the end of the previous video. Since it was daytime, and the camera lingered for more than a few seconds, the three people sitting at the bottom were in plain view. The hole was actually fairly wide. Jon was sitting on the ground, one leg stuck straight out with the other folded underneath him. Dylan and Casey were standing, eyes roaming over the walls.

“But what if we fall, and then there’d be _two_ injured people. Or we could fall on Jon and make his injury worse,” Dylan said nervously.

“I could move out of the way, I’m not an invalid,” Jon snapped. “Just start climbing. The sooner we get out here, the sooner we can start heading back.”

Dylan swallowed nervously and pressed his foot into the wall, as if looking for a foot hold.

“You know I don’t have great upper body strength.”

“What if we walk up it, back to back, like they do in that movie?” Casey suggested.

“And when you get to the top? Or if one of you slips?” Jon asked.

“Hey, that’s my thing,” Dylan said, and it almost looked like he was pouting.

“Then climb! I’m hungry and thirsty, and I’m sure you are too. I’d rather not die down here.”

“And then Danny and the others would never find our corpses, and no one would ever know what happened to us.” Dylan, understandably, looked stricken at the thought. Jon just sighed and bumped the worried boy’s shin with his knuckles.

“But that won’t happen, because we’ll get out of here, and meet up with them,” Jon reassured him. “So start climbing.”

Dylan nodded and reached up for a dangling root a little ways above his head. Casey was looking for her own handholds opposite him. The climb up was slow going. Both Casey and Dylan slipped a few times, but otherwise they made it up fine. It was almost a little too easy, all things considered. The hand and footholds they managed to find always seemed to be at just the right height. They pulled themselves up out of the hole, dirt smudged across their exposed skin, and panting from the effort.

Once she recovered, Casey leaned over the hole and shouted down to Jon. “We’ll be right back with something to get you out!”

“Okay,” Jon called back up. The others left, and the camera stayed on him for a moment as he let out a heavy sigh. “I’m not doomed, am I?” 

* * *

Danny, Rux, and Will were walking through the trees. Rux was chatting animatedly, her choice topic jumping from TV shows, to books, to their current situation, to a friend of hers who would apparently love what was happening on the island right now.

“Just think of everything she could make of this! It’s impossible for it all to be just a coincidence,” Rux ranted.

“She doesn’t believe in coincidence anyways,” Will added.

“Exactly! People are missing, and Danny just happens to know they aren’t dead, and they’re somewhere on the island.” Rux gestured wildly to the raven-haired teen walking in front of them. “We don’t even know how we’re going to get off the island and I just realized we should probably build a signal fire, and _then_ we have to figure out how ghosts are involved.”

Danny suddenly stopped and whipped around. “How do _you_ know ghosts are involved?”

“Oh, that’s _so_ obvious.” Rux grinned. “I can’t really think of anything else capable of causing a plane crash like that, _without everyone dying_? And being able to take away the… twenty?”

“Thirty-one,” Will corrected.

“Thirty-one missing people without a trace. Not to mention the fact that _you_ are the son of ghost hunters, and let’s be honest, you probably hunt ghosts too. It’s the family business.” Rux smirked, and a few people watching the videos grinned at the subtle reference. Those living in Amity Park wondered why Rux would jump to such a conclusion. They had never seen Danny Fenton participate in any ghost hunts with his parents. But his friends and sister had been seen on the occasion. It was puzzling, and a few people realized that there could be more going on than they suspected.

“Why do you think that?” Danny asked the question so many people were already wondering.

“You just have to think of things like a story, it’s a classic element. There’s some kind of family tradition, but one member of the family, normally the newest generation, has to plans to involve themselves in it. But somehow, through some circumstance, it happens. Will uses it all the time in his stories, don’t you?” Rux elbowed her friend.

“Classic,” he agreed.

Danny actually looked nervous now, further spiking everyone’s curiosity. “And, again, why ghosts?”

“I already said. You’re a ghost hunter, so of course ghosts would be involved.” Rux was grinning and her eyes shone. “You know, I never actually asked, why were you guys on the plane anyways?”

“Class trip,” Danny explained.

“What class?”

“Ghosts 402, advanced lessons.”

“Cool,” Rux crowed, drawing out the ‘o’. “I want to go to _your_ school.”

“Um, you live in Amity Park. You probably did,” Danny pointed out. He had an interesting expression on his face. Either confused, worried, or defensive. It was strange how one look could be interpreted as three very different expressions

“Good old Casper High. I wonder if Tetslaff is still teaching.” Rux mused. Danny seemed to give the young woman a thorough look over, like he didn’t think she was real, before turning away.

“Bad Rux, you scared him off,” Will whispered. “And why did you say all that?”

“Because.” Rux gave Will a sideways glance and winked. “I know something you don’t know.” 

* * *

Sam was standing beside an evergreen that had vines draped across its branches. If the viewers hadn’t already seen the strange combinations of foliage on the island, they would have been surprised. But as it was, a banana tree next to a willow had sort of ruined it for them. Sam had one of the vines in her hand and was giving it a scrutinizing stare.

“No sap,” she mumbled to herself. Those knowledgeable in survival skills immediately recognized what she was doing, while others watched in mild interest. Sam let the vine slip from her hands and grabbed a thicker one. She slipped a knife from her pocket. How she had gotten the knife onto the plane was cause for worry, but since it could probably save her life on the island, most people didn’t bother to think about it. Sam gripped the vine and sawed through it just above her fist. She grabbed it again lower down, holding both ends in one end, and made another cut so that she had a decent sized section of vine.

She ran her thumb across one of the openings, sniffing it experimentally. Then she licked the liquid off her thumb and paused. Apparently satisfied, Sam tipped her head back and poured what little water there was into her mouth.

When she was done, she lowered the vine and looked around.

“You checked it first, right?”

Sam yelled and jumped away in surprise, whipping around with the camera to see Danny.

“Geez! I thought you only did that to Tucker?” Sam asked defensively, giving Danny a half-hearted punch.

Danny shrugged in response. “I couldn’t resist.”

“Right. And yes, I checked the water, just like you’re supposed to. Where’s Rux and Will?” Sam looked over Danny’s shoulder.

“They’ll come stumbling through in a second. I went ahead.” Danny actually sounded annoyed.

“Of course you did. What’s wrong?”

“Nothing.”

“Danny, we’ve been friends for years. I know when something’s wrong. So what is it?”

“Rux is really observant,” Danny said.

“Lots of people are really observant.”

Danny rolled his eyes and gave her an intense look. “But she’s _really_ observant. She knows ghosts are involved, and she’s decided that I hunt ghosts.”

“But you _do_ hunt ghosts,” Sam pointed out, unknowingly confirming what Rux had said for everyone watching.

“Yeah, but no one’s every actually figured that out before. People in Amity are supposed to be stupid and oblivious,” Danny hissed, immediately insulting anyone from Amity Park who was watching. Their conversation dissolved as Rux and Will emerged from the bushes behind them, although Danny continued to give Sam a meaningful look.

“Hey Sam!” Rux grinned and waved enthusiastically, despite being only a few feet away. “Where’s everyone else?”

“A ghost snake attacked, we were separated.”

“Ooh, I told you ghosts were involved.” Rux poked Danny’s shoulder. “Was it a Ming snake? Or a spider snake?”

“…No.” Sam shook her head.

“Was it in someone’s boot?”

“It was a little big for that.”

“Hmm. Real life can be so boring sometimes.” Rux sighed and shook her head. Her comment seemed a little ridiculous, considering their current situation. Danny and Sam seemed to agree with that train of thought, since they both gave her odd looks. Will, however, was nodding in solemn agreement.

Danny was looking off into the trees with narrowed eyes, and Sam followed his line of vision. She looked from Danny, to the young adults with them, and back to the trees.

“I know the way back to where we separated. I’ll lead you.”

The others agreed and set off. Rux and Will didn’t seem to notice, but the viewers could just see that Danny was a fraction ahead of Sam as they returned the way she supposedly came. 

* * *

It would seem that the video skipped a decent portion of the day, because the lighting under the trees seemed to have changed and the shadows looked to be a little longer. The sight of a familiar tree and hole was all the explanation needed as to whom the focus had returned. An echoing hum drifted up from the hole, followed by an exasperated shout.

“If you guys are dead, forget haunting Fenton. My ghost is going to annoy you for eternity!”

“… So you guys better become ghosts too if you _are_ dead! Or else that wastes a perfectly good threat.”

“…Damn it…”

While Jon had been talking, Casey became visible through the trees. A few moments after he fell silent, she came close enough to speak to him.

“Jon, I’m back,” Casey called.

“Good, because I’m really bent on haunting Fenton when I die.”

“Um, what?”

“Never mind. Can you get me out?”

Casey crouched down next to the hole and shook her head. “I couldn’t find anything. There weren’t any vines strong enough in the area. Dylan might have had more luck.”

The camera was hovering over Casey’s shoulder now, so Jon’s crestfallen expression could be seen.

“But I found these.” Casey held out a small bit of cloth tied into a bundle and dropped it. Below, Jon hastily untied it and a handful of raspberries spilled across the dirt. Jon stared at them in disbelief, then proceeded to scoop them out of the dirt and drop them into his mouth.

“I never thought I’d be so happy to see a raspberry,” Jon said between bites. When they were all done, he stared stricken at his hand, as if he only just realized those berries could have been his only source of food for the next however many days he would be stuck down there. He looked up almost pleadingly at Casey.

The CA chuckled at his expression. “There were lots on the bush. I can go back to get more.”

“Oh thank god.” Jon sighed in relief and rested his head against the dirt wall. “Do you think Dylan’s okay? He could have gotten lost, or—”

“I could been chased by another ghost, or attacked by some vicious predator, or fallen down _another_ hole. There was probably a seventy percent chance you two would have never seen me again,” Dylan interrupted as he came into view.

“Yet none of those things happened.”

“Yet they could have, and you still sent me out there,” Dylan protested.

“I went out there too,” Casey pointed out.

“Exactly. You went out there _away_ from me. I thought we were gonna stick together.”

“Oh. I’m sorry, then. Did you find anything we could use to help Jon?” The camera zoomed in on Dylan’s empty hands, emphasizing his failure to do just that.

“No.”

“Now what?” The desperation in Jon’s voice was evident, and understandable. He was stuck in a deep hole for the foreseeable future, his ankle was sprained, and who knew exactly how sturdy the dirt surrounding him was.

“We’ll have to go out looking again. If we find nothing today, we’ll look again tomorrow.” Casey shrugged.

“Unless either you or I go to look for the others, or just _someone_ that could help us,” Dylan suggested. All three of them seemed to contemplate it for a moment, then shook their heads almost simultaneously.

“There’s no guarantee we’d find anyone, or by able to find our way back here. And then there’d only be one person to help Jon,” Dylan conceded, arguing against his own idea.

A heavy sigh drifted up from the hole. “Being stranded sucks.” 

* * *

On the beach by the plane, Andy was standing in the shallow water with a makeshift spear. The shaft was a narrow branch, stripped of its bark, and sloppily tied to the top was a supposedly sharp shard of metal. The spear tipped in his hand as he tried to keep it steady, which probably would have been much easier if he had the use of both his arms. He was watching the water intently, eyes roaming over the forms just underneath the surface.

“Aha!” Andy shouted and plunged the spear downwards. The fish that he had been aiming for swam away in a frenzy, along with any others that had been close by. Andy groaned and stuck the spear in the sand.

“Catch anything?” Paulina’s lilting voice came from out of sight, and the camera swerved around so that she was in view. Her hair had been tied up messily, and several stray strands framed her fac.

“No.” Andy practically growled, and it became obvious to those watching that this wasn’t the first time the Latina had asked.

“Hmph. Dash would have caught something by now,” Paulina moped.

“Well Dash isn’t here!” Andy shouted and spun around. “He’s missing, just like Nathan, and Lester, and Kori, and twenty-seven other passengers on that stupid plane! And now everyone else is gone too, and if they don’t come back, we’ll probably starve.”

Paulina looked like she was about to cry. Andy just glared at her and stormed past. While many people didn’t want to sympathize with the overbearing girl, the passengers’ situation was a stressful one, and Paulina obviously wasn’t handling it well. Or at all. She almost seemed to be in denial.

Andy left her standing on the beach and went inside the plane, dropping into the first available seat. A few seconds later, Leo popped up behind him.

“Did you fight with the pretty girl?” The little girl asked innocently.

“Yeah. And she’s not _that_ pretty,” Andy answered.

“I think she is. I think everyone’s pretty, even you. I like your hair, it’s fluffy.” Leo’s fingers disappeared into Andy’s shaggy locks, and the teenager smiled. “I hope Danny comes back soon. I miss him.”

“You miss him? You don’t even know him.”

“I don’t care. He’s like a hero, and I _love_ superheroes. Robin is my favourite. I think you like superheroes too.” Leo hummed in a satisfied way and removed her hands from Andy’s hair. She disappeared for a moment, then reappeared in the aisle next to him. She waved her hands and Andy obediently moved a seat over so that she could sit next to him.

“Phantom’s not your favourite hero?”

“He is, but he’s real. Robin is my favourite not real hero. Do you have a favourite hero?” Leo asked.

“Probably Phantom, like most other people in Amity Park,” Andy said.

“Has he ever saved you?”

“He’s saved everyone in Amity at least once. My whole class? He’s saved us a bunch of times. Ghosts attack Casper High all the time.”

“Whoa.” Leo’s eyes widened and she started bouncing excitedly in her seat. “Then, if we stay in Amity Park, I want to go to _your_ school. Then I could see all of you guys, and I could see Phantom, and he could save me!”

“I don’t think you’re old enough for high school yet.” Andy chuckled.

“Mom said that too.” Leo pouted and crossed her arms, sinking into her seat. But she recovered quickly. “But the purple man said I was a big girl and could go to high school, and I could go on adventures all on my own.”

“The purple man?” Andy’s brow furrowed in concern.

“Uh-huh. I saw him. He has four arms and a _really_ big mouth, like he could swallow a cat whole. But I hope he doesn’t, because I like cats. And his eyes were black, which was sort of scary, but he sounded really nice.” Leo hummed again and closed her eyes, bobbing along to a tune of her own design, and singing nonsensical verses about a purple genie that would help her grow up faster. 


	15. Profiles - part 4

_Welcome to **Amity 117** chat forum_

**_KingArthur_** **has logged in**

**_AllenWonderland_ has created an account**

**_KingArthur:_** Welcome to the kingdom!

 ** _AllenWonderland:_** Hi

 ** _KingArthur:_** Feel free to look through the archived conversations to catch up on the forum

 ** _AllenWonderland:_** Sure, thanks

**_LordOfMud_ has logged in**

****

**_KingArthur_** **has sent a FILE**

_FILE :external import: [RUX_WILLIAMS]_

**Name** : Ruxandera Williams

 **Age** : 20

 **Appearance:** Copper blonde hair, honey coloured eyes

**Outside sources:**

University student

Does community theatre

Foster child (orphaned during a house fire)

**Video reveals:**

Makes a lot of references

Really energetic/ very outgoing

Has a few strange mannerisms

Good friends with Will

 

**_Mud-Of-Solitude_ has logged in**

**_Fantomo_ has logged in**

**_NoIsY_ has logged in**

**_NoIsY:_** I Think She Has More Than A _Few_ Strange Mannerisms

 ** _LordOfMud:_** Fallout! You’re back! And that girl be crazzzzzzy

 ** _KingArthur:_** Crazy wonderful

 ** _AllenWonderland:_** Do you know her?

 ** _KingArthur:_** I don’t think that really matters

 ** _KingArthur_** **has sent a FILE**

_FILE :external import: [WILL_RUXE]_

**Name** : William Ruxe

 **Age** : 22

 **Appearance:** Blond hair, blue eyes

**Outside sources:**

University student

Has two published short stories

Foster child

**Video reveals:**

Not as weird as Rux

Good friends with Rux

Seems reserved

Keeps Rux in line

 

 ** _Fantomo:_** Why are all the video reveals about Rux?

 ** _AllenWonderland:_** The reserved one isn’t :/

 ** _KingArthur:_** That’s just what it ended up being. We don’t know a lot about him

 ** _AllenWonderland:_ ** But if you know Rux, then you know Will, which means you _know_ Will

 ** _KingArthur:_** The king reserves the right to deny your inquiries

 ** _AllenWonderland:_** O.o okay

 ** _LordOfMud:_** Who else thinkz Will likes Rux?

 ** _Fantomo:_** They’re stranded on an island, struggling for survival, and you’re wondering who has a crush on who?

 ** _LordOfMud:_** I am invested in my shipz

 ** _Fantomo:_** Your what?

 ** _LordOfMud:_** NOOOOO! You’re _normal???_ For SHAME!

 ** _Fantomo:_** I’ll have you know, I’m _really_ not normal

 ** _NoIsY:_** Hey, If Rux And Will Are Both Foster Kids, Maybe They Grew Up Together?

 ** _Mud-of-Solitude:_** Could be a coincidence

 ** _LordOfMud:_** THE UNIVERSE IZ NEVER SO LAZY!

**_BoyWes_ has logged in**

**_Mud-of-Solitude:_** Is that…?

 ** _LordOfMud:_** Rux izn’t the only who can make referencez :)

 ** _KingArthur:_** I don’t think that’s quite the right line

 ** _LordOfMud:_** Really? Dammit

 ** _BoyWes:_** Okay. Enough about the weirdos, who else do you have?

 ** _KingArthur:_** More like the weirdly fantastic

 ** _KingArthur_** **has sent a FILE**

_FILE :external import: [SAM_MANSON]_

**Name** : Samantha Manson

 **Age** : 17

 **Appearance:** Black hair, purple eyes

**Outside sources:**

Comes from a rich family

Good student

Friends with Danny and Tucker

**Video reveals:**

Probably in love with Danny

Has survival skills and medical knowledge

No one messes with Sam

Overall BAMF

Botanical knowledge

 

 ** _BoyWes:_** Oh, nice. More weirdos

 ** _LordOfMud:_** Being a BAMF iz not weird! It’z amazing.

 ** _LordOfMud:_** Fantom person! You’re Danny’z cuzin, you probably know Sam. How BAMF iz she?

 ** _Fantomo:_** She’s pretty cool

 ** _BoyWes:_** She’s… Goth, and broody, and scary. She’s weird

 ** _Fantomo:_** Sam is _not_ broody, and you’re a jerk for saying she’s weird because she’s Goth

 ** _LordOfMud:_** JERK!

 ** _BoyWes:_** Whatever.

 ** _Mud-of-Solitude:_** Fudging jerk

 ** _KingArthur:_** Language

 ** _LordOfMud:_** I understood that reference!

 ** _LordOfMud:_** Hey, this iz fun. Now I get why Ruxy doez it

 ** _AllenWonderland:_** Technically not a swear

 ** _KingArthur:_** My profanity sense was tingling

 ** _NoIsY:_** … You’re All A Bunch Of Ruxes

 ** _LordOfMud:_** Ooh, that soundz cool Iz that a thing? Can that be a thing?

 ** _Fantomo:_** So, since you just did Sam, I’m guessing Danny is next?

 ** _KingArthur:_** Correct, King Hamlet

 ** _KingArthur_** **has sent a FILE**

_FILE :external import: [DANNY_FENTON]_

**Name** : Daniel Fenton

 **Age** : 18

 **Appearance:** Black hair, blue eyes

**Outside sources:**

Son of ghost hunters

Has an older sister

Average student

Poor class attendance

Notorious for quick disappearances

Friends with Sam and Tucker

**Video reveals:**

Probably in love with Sam

Quick reflexes (you don’t want to wake him up)

He knows something about what’s going on

Friends think he’s a pessimist

Quiet amongst large groups

Has a calming and commanding presence

Has survival skills and medical knowledge

 

 ** _Fantomo:_ ** Wait, King Hamlet?

 ** _KingArthur:_** From the play, Hamlet. The ghost, Hamlet’s dead dad. Fantomo means ghost, right?

 ** _Fantomo:_** Yeah

 ** _LordOfMud:_** Cool. We can have a battle of kingz

 ** _Mud-of-Solitude:_** Sometimes, I don’t know why I stay in this flippin’ place

 ** _LordOfMud:_** Because you’re my servant, and do my bidding. But more importantly!!!!

 ** _LordOfMud:_** You didn’t mention any of the weird stuff. Unless you think that’z normal. If so, what iz your definition of weeeiiirrd?

 ** _KingArthur:_** My definition hardly matters. I think he’s being perfectly normal, all things considered

 ** _NoIsY:_** What Things?

 ** _KingArthur:_** I know something you don’t know ;)

 ** _Fantomo:_** Wait, what do you know?

 ** _KingArthur:_ ** That depends, what do you know, _King Hamlet_?

 ** _Fantomo:_** That depends on what you know

 ** _KingArthur:_** What if we type it at the same time?

 ** _Fantomo:_** Not gonna happen

 ** _KingArthur:_** Okay. Then let’s just say, that I know _half_ a the deal

 ** _Mud-of-Solitude:_** *of

 ** _KingArthur:_** Right, yeah

 ** _Fantomo:_** Half a the deal?

 ** _KingArthur:_** Exactly

 ** _Mud-of-Solitude:_** * _of_

 ** _Fantomo:_** Uh-huh

 ** _KingArthur:_** Yep

**_YourFather_ has logged in**

**_BoyWes:_** You’re all weird. Fenton especially. I’ve been going to school with that kid for four years, and I still don’t understand him

 ** _LordOfMud:_** You just can’t comprehend hiz level of awesome

 ** _LordOfMud:_** DanyxSam forever!!

 ** _BoyWes:_** Please, there’s a reason Fenton’s schoolwide nickname is Clueless

 ** _LordOfMud:_** That just makez it better

**_BoyWes_ has logged out**

**NoIsY:** But Really, What’s Going On With Danny? Or Leo And That Purple Genie Thing? Or Will Walking Off Into The Forest For No Reason?

 ** _Fantomo:_** Since we’ve already established ‘ghosts’, I’m just gonna repeat. Ghosts! They do all sorts of odd things, especially the bad ones

 ** _Mud-of-Solitude:_** I can’t believe the government still hasn’t found anything. It’s been thirteen days. You’d think the videos would be a big hint

 ** _AllenWonderland:_** The island can’t be recognized. In case you haven’t noticed, all those plants shouldn’t be thriving in the same climate. An island like that doesn’t exist

 ** _KingArthur:_** Unless it’s the source of a government experiment they’re keeping all hushed up, in which case they probably aren’t even looking for the plane, and just hoping the videos eventually stop

 ** _LordOfMud:_** Soundz like that Phantom Conspiracy thing

 ** _KingArthur:_** Ooh! You followed the link and read it. What’d you think?

 ** _LordOfMud:_** Totally crazy. I love it

 ** _NoIsY:_** Seems A Little Farfetched To Me. The Government Is Doing Everything They Can, And They Wouldn’t Kill All those People

 ** _LordOfMud:_** You’re way too innocent, Fallout

 ** _Fantomo:_** I believe it

 ** _AllenWonderland:_** I don’t know if I believe it, but it sounds plausible

 ** _Mud-of-Solitude:_** I can’t decide

 ** _YourFather:_** I am YourFather!

 ** _AllenWonderland:_** _NOOOOOOOOOOO!_

 ** _YourFather:_** Yes! Finally! I love you AllenWonderland!

**_YourFather_ has logged out**

**_Mud-of-Solitude:_** What was that about?

 ** _LordOfMud:_** Star Wars, I think.

 ** _Mud-of-Solitude:_** Right. And that’s my weirdness max for the day

**_Mud-of-Solitude_ has logged out**

**_LordOfMud:_** No, my servant!

**_LordOfMud_ has logged out**

**_AllenWonderland_ has logged out**

**_NoIsY_ has logged out**

**_KingArthur:_ ** See you around, Fantomo chick

**_KingArthur_ has logged out**

**_Fantomo_ has logged out**


	16. Ghost Watch

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Time passed IRL: 14 days

“Welcome back. I’m Tiffany Snow, and this is Ghost Watch. First I’d like to apologize for our abrupt ending last time, we were experiencing some technical difficulties. It’s been two weeks since the first video was released, revealing the status of the missing Amity 117 passengers, who popular social media sights have nicknamed The Survivalists.” Tiffany turned away from the camera, and it panned out to reveal her guests. “With me here today are world renowned ghost experts Jack and Madeleine Fenton.”

Both parents looked rather dishevelled. Jack, a rather large man, was wearing a fairly dirty orange jumpsuit. His hair, which obviously hadn’t been combed in a few days, was mussed and looked very similar to Danny’s own hairstyle at the moment. While Maddie’s own blue jumpsuit was clean, and her hair was neatly brushed, there were obvious traces of grease smudges on her cheek and hands. They had heavy bags under their eyes and weary smiles.

“Your son, Danny, is one of the passengers trapped on the island. How have you been dealing with the experience?” Tifanny asked.

“After watching the first video, we immediately started searching for the survivors. We knew right away that ghosts had to be involved. We’ve been devoting all our time since then to our efforts,” Maddie answered.

“And how have you been searching?”

“Ghosts!” Jack bellowed. Maddie placed a hand on his arm, and he grinned sheepishly. “Ghosts are ecto-entities. Their bodies are made of ectoplasm, and it’s also their energy source. Energy can be traced, and so can ghosts and ghostly activity.”

“While pure ectoplasm evaporates after it’s been separated from the host entity, the energy signature remains. Causing a plane crash, or making an entire plane disappear would require a lot of energy, and we were able to trace it,” Maddie explained further.

“And where did it lead you?”

“There was a massive energy spike over the Gulf of Mexico the day the plane vanished, but…”

“The air force has already searched the area, and there’s nothing there,” Jack finished with a shake of his head.

Tiffany’s expression turned uncharacteristically solemn before she changed her line of questioning. “Your son was injured severely in the crash, but refuses attention and otherwise seems fine. How do you feel about his behaviour, and do you know the reason behind it?”

The couple seemed to share and important look before Maddie spoke. “We’re worried. He needs proper medical attention, and his injuries don’t appear to be healing. We have theories about his condition, but nothing definitive.”

“And what might one of those theories be?”

“Most of Amity Park knows that during freshman year, there was an accident in our lab,” Jack said. “Danny-o and his friends went down there without supervision and he was shocked by one of our inventions.”

“He ended up in the hospital for several days, correct?”

The couple nodded. “Besides the scar, it seemed like Danny-boy was perfectly fine.”

“But now you don’t think that’s the case.”

“No. Jack and I believe he experienced nerve damage, and that over time it’s spread to the rest of his body.”

“So if I’m understanding this correctly, you think the reason Danny is refusing treatment is because he can’t feel any pain, and can’t comprehend how serious his injuries really are.”

“That’s correct.”

“What about his strange behaviour? Jazz told us that he’s been training to taking over Fenton Works one day. Is this training the reason for that?”

“No, we don’t think so. For years Jack had been trying to convince Danny to become involved in our ghost hunting lives, but he never showed any interest until high school. It was only after Pariah Dark returned and threatened the world that accepted our offer. Danny knows a lot about ghosts, and he’s been in training for a while now, but he isn’t supposed to have any field experience. The behaviour we’ve seen tells me he’s too comfortable in their current situation, meaning he’s been in one like this before, or he’s underestimating the situation.”

“Of course. We’re almost out of time, but I have a caller waiting who’d like to ask you a few questions.”

“Okay.” Jack nodded.

“ _Hi, hey. It’s great to be back._ ”

“Artie?” Tiffany asked, blinking in what could only be surprise.

“ _Ms. Snow, you remembered! I’m touched. So my question is, have the ghosts said anything about what’s going on?_ ”

The Fentons frowned. “No, should they have?”

“ _Oh, I thought you would have spoken to them. After my absolutely riveting conversation with Jazz last time, I took a look at a few of her articles on ghost psychology. I’m sure you’ve read them.”_

“Of course! Jazzypants is a genius.” Jack beamed.

“ _I know, right? I read one paper about human/ghost interactions, because that happens a lot in Amity, and Danny was a source for a lot of her material. Since he’s spoken to ghosts before, I thought you would have allies or something._ ”

“There are a few non-malevolent entities that we’ve known our son interacts with,” Maddie said, looking skeptical.

“ _That’s so cool. Mrs. Fenton, I’m a big fan. I read the article about you in Genius Magazine. You used to believe all ghosts were evil. Is it Danny that changed your mind?_ ”

“After living in Amity Park where we’re constantly under assault by ghosts, it didn’t take long to notice that some entities were simply seen from time to time, but didn’t act. But yes, it was Danny that tipped the scales in the end,” Maddie confirmed.

“ _Again, love your work. You too, big guy, great stuff. I guess that’s all my questions for the day. Thanks for enlightening information._ ”

“Okay! Thank you for watching. Up next we have Lance Thunder with our main story of the night. Ghosts and your missing socks, what’s the connection, and are their motives innocent? Keep watching to find out.”


	17. Attack

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning! Brief non-graphic mention of OC suicide

The video started with a bang. Danny and his crew could be seen for just a second before there was an explosion of green light. The camera stayed steady and when the light faded, Danny was standing just as before, with right hand thrust out in defense. The wrappings on his arm looked newer. Still grimy and ragged, but properly bound.

The others were sprawled out behind him. Sam had positioned herself in front of Will and Rux, almost protectively, and the two university students were struggling to their feet.

“Sweet Precursors! What was that?” Rux shouted.

“Ghost,” Dany explained simply. His eyes were narrowed, scanning the area as he slowly walked in a circle. Sam immediately moved to stand at his back, watching the opposite direction.

“Buddy cops,” Rux whispered, watching the duo as they watched everything else.

“Rux, focus on the ghost,” Will scolded.

“We’re fine.” She waved off his concerns. “There’s no age difference though…”

“ _Rux_ ,” Will hissed.

“But the kid is totally the gruff, experienced one. And Sam’s the badass. But Danny’s pretty badass too. The girlfriend would love this!”

“Duck!” Danny shouted. He and Sam dove sideways as a blast of greenlight soared over their heads. Danny tackled Will, knocking him down just in time, while Sam grabbed Rux’s shoulder and pulled her out of the way.

“Son of a-”

“-Hora-Quan! No swearing, Will, we promised.” Rux squeaked when she stumbled over a fallen branch and a third ectoblast narrowly missed singing her cheek.

“Where is it?” Will asked with wide eyes. He was spinning around, head whipping back and forth as he tried to locate their attacker. Danny and Sam were ignoring them both.

“How many?” Sam asked.

Danny’s gaze narrowed in concentration. “Six.”

“What type?”

“Swarm.”

“Like the Sleepwalkers?”

“Bertrand.”

“So one ghost.” Sam nodded.

“He just said six,” Will protested, pointing at Danny.

“Six bodies, not six ghosts. Some ghosts can duplicate themselves, or create minions. We call those swarms. Now hurry up and run.” Sam rushed over to Will and hustled him forwards, with Rux right behind her. Danny dodged another ecto-attack and followed.

“We can take six ghosts,” Will said, but he was already running.

“You have no training, and I don’t have my weapons with me,” Sam hissed.

“And Danny’s weapons?”

“Circumstances restrict his involvement.” The Goth gritted her teeth together, glaring back at her friend. “Just run!”

Sam sped up, taking the lead. She skirted around clumps of trees and jumped over dense bushes. Will and Rux, while appearing decently in shape, obviously weren’t athletic. Rux was panting heavily and Will continued to stumble over the forest debris. Behind them, Danny navigated the ground with ease. Just like Sam, he moved with precision. When a stream of ectoplasm burst over his shoulder, he fell into an easy roll despite the rough terrain and popped back to his feet. But he didn’t continue running.

Instead, Danny spun around the face the threat. Sam, who was glancing over her shoulder to make sure Rux and Will were still with them, spotted Danny and skidded to a halt.

“Danny! What are you doing?” Sam shouted.

“Fighting back. Get to a safe distance,” Danny instructed without looking back.

Sam looked conflicted, eyes clouding with worry. In the end she shook her head and prompted the university students to start moving again. “You better not get hurt.”

Danny’s answering silence seemed almost foreboding.

As Sam, Rux, and Will ran further away, the forest fell silent. The camera circled Danny while he stood still, arms raised and ready to attack. For a moment, viewers were hopeful that maybe, just maybe, their pursuers had given up. Their hopes were shattered when something came flying out of the trees towards Danny. Many chose to cover their eyes, not wanting to witness the inevitable collision that would spell doom for the young ghost hunter, but it never came. The video began to move in slow motion, giving everyone a perfect view of the ghost, and a devastating attack.

The ghost itself was almost humanoid. Instead of legs it had a wispy, spectral tail, and there were three long spikes on its head. But its torso and arms appeared unbelievably human as it reached for its prey.

The very second the video slowed, Danny started to turn. He kept one foot plant, dragging the other through the grass and dirt without leaving the ground, to maintain balance. His left arm reeled back, fingers curled as if to grab rather than punch. The ghost was two feet away when Danny leaned forwards, swinging his arm around. But he never made a fist. His hand reached the ghost, and his fingers appeared to be sinking into the sickly green skin when time resumed as normal. The next thing everyone knew, the ghost was gone, a deep gouge in the forest floor nearly thirty feet long stretching from Danny’s feet to a pile of ectoplasmic goo.

The teen himself simply glared at the ectoplasm, shaking out his hand and flexing his fingers.

“Cool. I didn’t think that’d work,” Danny said, grinning excitedly at his hand. But his victory was short lived as four more ghosts, identically to the one he’d just dealt with, soared into view. They started circling him, and he fell into what was recognizably a defensive stance. Four ectoblasts were fired simultaneously, and Danny dove out of the way, catching himself on his bad arm. But he made no indication of pain. He rolled, dodging two more blasts, and rose fluidly. His eyes were moving frantically, jumping around the clearing as he looked for something.

A triumphant grin washed over Danny’s face as he boldly charged forwards, running straight towards one of his attackers. Instead of ducking around or underneath the ghost, Danny jumped up and swung his elbow out. It was a solid hit straight to the face, and the ghost went flying back and slammed into a thick tree. Danny landed in a crouch, snatched up a fallen branch, and faced the remaining three ghosts.

“If I’m write, and I usually am, this’ll work.”

The ghosts made no reply, choosing instead to dive at once. Danny gripped the branch with both hands and swung fiercely. The first ghost shrieked as the branch tore through its body, both halves dispersing once separated. Keeping his momentum, Danny turned the downward swing up and clipped the second ghost. He was forced to dodge the third, ducking under the green body. As Danny spun about to keep his foe insight, he jabbed and stabbed the branch through its chest. He ripped it out without waiting to see the ghost’s demise and finished off the second ghost before facing the fourth.

This one seemed more cautious and hovered a relatively safe distance away, but that was hardly enough to save it. Danny leapt forwards, grabbed the ghost’s spectral tail, and held it in place while he attacked. A quick blow to the chest was all it took.

Danny dropped to the forest floor, glancing at each pile of ectoplasm. The viewers counted along with him, noting that there were only five. The raven haired boy had mentioned there were six, meaning one was still hiding somewhere. Danny’s eyes widened as he looked in the direction the others had gone, and he took off.

“Hurry up, kid!” Rux’s shout echoed through the forest, and Danny sped up. A larger rock came into view, jutting from the ground and reaching up to the tree tops. The camera rounded it before he did, revealing the sixth ghosts raining ectoblasts down on Danny’s companions.

There was no hesitation. The very moment Danny bore witness to the attack, he was jumping in front of an ecto-attack that surely would have struck Sam down. The green ball of energy burst apart against Danny’s chest.

“Danny!” Sam screamed, but he appeared to be fine. Rather than shouting in pain, curling around the fresh wound, or even wincing, Danny hurled the branch still clutched in his hands. It smacked the ghost in the face, startling it. Taking advantage of the lapse in focus, Danny darted forwards and thrust his hands out. It sunk into the ghost’s head, and a second later it burst apart.

“Sam, are you okay?” Danny asked once the ghost had been eliminated. He rushed towards his friend, gripping her shoulder tightly, and began to examine her for wounds. Besides those earned in the crash, and the customary scratches and scrapes from traversing the forest, she looked unharmed.

“I’m fine, but Danny you-”

“Rux and Will, how are you guys?” Danny asked, facing the two university students.

“I’m… good.” Will nodded slowly.

“Frell yes! That was awesome!” Rux cheered, raising her hands and thrusting two victory signs in the air.

“Everyone’s fine, Danny. Everyone but you. Let me look at your chest,” Sam demanded, shoving the larger boy to the ground. Danny sighed but didn’t protest as Sam lifted his shirt. The camera zoomed in, focusing on a toned stomach littered with scars, before revealing the wound. It was strange.

On the left side of Danny’s abdomen, it looked like a serious burn infected with ectoplasm. His skin was tinged green around the edges, and there were bright streaks inside the injury. But it wasn’t actually bleeding. There was blood at the surface, but it didn’t drip down his skin. It didn’t even leave the wound.

Sam was frowning, but didn’t seem surprised at all. Rux and Will, who couldn’t see from their angle, tried to focus on anything but the intimate moment.

“It can’t be treated properly until we’re back at the plane. Right now, the only thing we can do is wrap it. Which you obviously know,” Sam said with a glare. “But Danny, as soon as we’re back you _have_ to turn it back on.”

In the background, Rux perked up and focused on the duo. Danny wouldn’t meet Sam’s eyes as was pulling his shirt back down.

“You know I can’t do that.”

“Yes you can, and you have to! This is stupid. If you wait too long, you’re going to _die_ , for real this time!” Sam shouted. “Your arm was bad enough, but now this? And don’t think I haven’t noticed, you haven’t eaten or drank anything since we got separated from everyone else. I can’t decide what’s going to kill you first. Blood loss, infection, starvation, or dehydration? How about all at once?”

Sam’s voice had steadily been growing louder throughout her rant, and she was practically screaming now. Her face was flushed with worry and there were obvious tears in her eyes. The residents of Amity Park watching the scene were shocked. Sam Manson _never_ cried.

“You guys need all the food we find. In this state, I can last without it. You _know_ that. And I know that it’s stupid, and it’s going to hurt like hell, but if I turn it on I’ll be in too much pain to do anything. I won’t be able to help anyone. I can’t even help everyone as it is.” Danny sounded pleading, blue eyes wide and begging for Sam to understand. The Goth huffed, obviously calming down already, but still not looking pleased.

“Stupid hero complex,” she muttered and rose to her feet. “From now on, you’re eating and drinking. I don’t care if you can’t feel that you need to, or if nothing changes once you do. The blood will be bad enough once this is all done. Deal?”

“Deal.” Danny grinned and stood up beside her, glancing disdainfully at the hole in his shirt. “But I really wish these clothes worked the same as my jumpsuit. I really liked this shirt.”

…

“So… swarm ghosts?” Will asked. They were in another part of the forest, surrounded by thick trunked trees. It wasn’t a place any viewers recognized, and it became obvious the ghost attack had driven them off course quite a ways. Will was lying on the grass in a small, cleared out space. Danny could be seen walking through the trees in the background, watchful eyes turned away from the camera. Sam, leaning against one of the larger trees, was watching the young ghost hunter carefully.

“Is it a power class?” Rux popped into the video, and the camera panned right to keep her in view as she turned away from the others, quickly abandoning her question. The young woman craned her neck and stared up into the treetops. She placed her hands against the rough bark, and started searching for handholds.

“Didn’t you listen before?” Sam asked, finally looking away from Danny. Her eyes widened in confusion as they settled on Rux, who was now bracing her feet against the tree.

“Nope!” Rux chirped cheerfully.

“Well, you’re not wrong. You know how many ghosts there are in Amity Park.”

“Lots and lots.” Rux nodded enthusiastically as she started to climb.

“Riiiight. And they have a lot of different abilities and fighting methods. _That’s_ what it means. Swarm ghosts can attack with multiple bodies, and we have three different types. Duplicators, minioners, and body splitters,” Sam explained.

“Minioners isn’t a word,” Will interrupted.

“Lots of things aren’t words, but we use them anyways. Anything becomes a word if you say it enough,” Rux crowed. She was several feet off the ground now.

“What does each type mean?”

“Duplicators should be pretty obvious. They create, uh, clones,” Sam cringed and glanced at Danny, who had faltered in his diligent patrol, “of themselves, duplications, to fight. Minioners use their power to create multiple bodies with a hive mind. The new bodies typically share the same appearance, but don’t always look like the creator. They aren’t actual ghosts but manifestations of power. Nocturne does this, and we think Pariah Dark did it as well. Body splitters have shapeshifting abilities, and with their shapeshifting can change into a form that has multiple bodies.”

“Isn’t duplicating and body splitting the same thing?” Will asked.

“Not at all. Duplicating doesn’t require shapeshifting, and while the duplicates are identical to the original, they technically have a mind of their own and can control their own actions until they’re destroyed. Body splitters control multiple bodies at once, maintaining a single mind,” Sam elaborated with an exasperated sigh.

“Okay.” Will nodded, finally understanding.

“That’s so cool. You must have gotten close to a lot of ghosts to learn all this.” Rux called. She was above everyone’s heads now, and struggling to go higher. “Any other classes?”

“Clankers.”

Will jumped and Rux shrieked in surprise as Danny spoke from the base of her tree. Her gripped slipped and she plummeted down. Danny caught Rux soundlessly and deposited her back on her feet.

“Oh.” Rux stood stunned for a moment before wiping her dirty hands on what remained of her jeans. “So what’s a clunker?”

“They use real world items.”

“Cool. Cool, cool, cool.” Rux nodded then looked around. “So where are we anyways?”

Sam glanced up. “I think we ran north. The plane is to the south.”

Danny followed her gaze and nodded. “We were going west.”

“Right, for me.” A small smile flitted across Sam’s face.

“And now we go south to the plane and everyone else, and work on getting found,” Will said, sitting up.

“No.” Danny shook his head.

“I’d usually agree with you, kid, and you’re a totally badass – sorry Sam – but why not?” Rux cocked her head, looking oddly like a small, curious animal.

“Others,” Danny explained, make little sense to anyone but Sam.

“We need to check the manifest,” Rux said with a serious face. “And watch for fog monsters. But I guess this would mean we’re actually all dead, which doesn’t make sense since some people actually _did_ die in the crash. Such a cop out.”

“These others came here with us,” Danny elaborated.

Rux gasped, eyes lighting up, and clapped her hands. “Yay! You know other things too!”

Danny smirked. “Four, eight, fifteen, sixteen, twenty-three, forty-two.”

It wasn’t hard for the viewers to picture Rux’s eyes shining as if on a cartoon, wide, innocent, and dotted with golden sparkles. “Let’s go find some others!”

…

Many viewers around the world had decided early on they weren’t fans of one Paulina Sanchez. An almost clichéd popular girl, caring more about her looks than their dire situation, taking claim for other’s success, and pestering others to care for her instead of trying to care for herself. There were many things to be held against her.

The scene on the screen now was possibly the only one that put her in a good light.

Paulina was sitting under the makeshift shelter Rux and Will made their first day on the island. She was hugging her knees, chin resting on her arms. All her attention was focused on the small body lying in the sand next to her. Leo was curled on her side, cheek pressed into her palms and breathing softly. She was asleep, using what looked to be an expensive jacket as a pillow, and Paulina was watching over her with a protective gaze.

The Latina reached out slowly, and was inches away from running her fingers through the girl’s hair when Valerie hobbled into view. Paulina snatched her hand back and glared at her injured classmate.

“What do you want?” Paulina snapped.

“What’s wrong with you?” Valerie spat back.

Paulina’s eyes widened in shock and she actually flinched at the venom in her words. “Excuse me?”

“You’ve been bossing Andy around ever since the others didn’t return. In case you haven’t noticed, he has a _broken arm_. I know he already spoke to you, but I know from experience you can be pretty self-absorbed.” Valerie leaned down so they were face to face. “People aren’t your things to use and toss away as you wish. You think everyone’s worthless because they don’t have money like you do. It doesn’t even matter if they once had it. It’s bad enough that you’re classist, but constantly going to Andy to be your human slave? Don’t be homophobic too.”

“Val,” Paulina started, an almost guilty expression on her face.

“No. Don’t _Val_ me. It’s been three years since you and those other A-listers tore me down. It’s a little late for an apology. But you want to know the funny thing? The only people willing to be friends with me after you kicked me out, are those same ‘losers’ you’ve trashed every day since freshman year. And I’m pretty sure they’re going to be the only reason we ever get off this island.”

Valerie’s intense gaze didn’t waver, but Paulina’s did. She broke eye contact first, glancing once again at the girl beside her.

“You remember my step-brother?” Paulina asked.

“Of course. You guys always fought, probably did all the way until the day he was sent to boarding school,” Valerie said, rolling her eyes.

“I was six when our parents got married, he was four. We got along really well when we were little, but he resented me when we grew up. Said his dad liked me better.” Paulina wouldn’t take her eyes off of Leo, who shifted in her sleep but didn’t wake. She hugged her knees tighter, and her voice grew quiet. “He killed himself last year.”

Valerie’s eyes widened in surprise and she slower lowered herself into the sand, but that was the only emotion visible on her face. Paulina continued uninterrupted.

“Our parents didn’t know, but he was gay. We didn’t talk much, after he went to boarding school, but he called a couple times, crying. He was being bullied a lot. It wasn’t even about his sexuality at first. They bullied him _because_ he was rich.” Paulina’s voice was shaking and she finally succumbed to her sisterly desire, running her fingers through Leo’s hair. “It got worse, after they found out he was gay. One night it got really bad, and the next morning his roommate found him. I’m not homophobic.”

There was a beat of silence. Leo shifted again, leaning into Paulina’s hand, and murmured softly. Valerie took a deep breath.

“What happened to your brother was horrible, but you’re pathetic, Paulina. You can’t use him as an excuse. You’re being just like those people that picked on your brother. If you’re not homophobic, stop acting like it,” Valerie hissed. She stood up, struggled to maneuver without jarring her leg. “And this may come as a surprise to you, but rich people aren’t the only ones that kill themselves, _you’re_ not the only person who’s lost someone that way. Join the club.”

With that, Valerie hobbled away, hissing in pain every other step.

…

Lancer stumbled through the underbrush, cursing as a bramble caught his shirt. He looked worn out. He had several small, fresh cuts from outreaching branches, and his movements were slow. Lancer was dragging his feet, tripping on little things, and panting heavily despite the clear path provided for him. He looked like he’d been walking for days, which wasn’t right.

One day had passed since everyone was separated. The initial walk to the clearing, where they were searching for food, hadn’t even taken half a day. Even if he stopped for the night, he should have been back at the beach by now.

Lancer sighed heavily and licked his parched lips, bracing himself against a nearby tree. He glanced around the forest.

“Am I going the right way?” Lancer asked himself. He looked back the way he came. The path carved through the forest by the giant ghost snake looked straight. There was even a small patch of blue to the south, in the direction of the beach. He focused on the tree supporting him and frowned.

“I’ve seen this before.”

“Of course you have!” A childish, lilting voice echoed around the forest, causing Lancer to flinch.

“ _Life of Pi_ , I’m losing my mind!” Lancer gasped.

“No you’re not.” The voice giggled. “But you have seen this tree before. It’s everywhere.”

The camera panned out, revealing more of the forest. Every single tree was identical to the one Lancer rested, despite having been a strange mix of coniferous and tropical mere seconds ago.

“Dehydration can cause hallucinations,” Lancer mumbled.

There was another childlike laugh. “If all you wanted was some water, all you had to do was ask.”

Water started to trickle down the tree, from an unseen source. It started slowly at first, then grew into a steady stream, until it was pouring from leaves like a heavy rainfall. Somewhat delirious and no doubt in desperate need of water, Lancer lurched towards one of the heavy streams and opened his mouth.

“Nice, isn’t it?”

“You’re a ghost,” Lancer stated once he’d had his fill.

“Of course, silly. What else would I be?” The voice giggle again.

“Who are you, what do you want?”

“I don’t have a name.” The ghost finally appeared. It was small, only half as tall as Lancer, and had a rather generic appearance. A flowing, lavender coloured, teardrop body, and four stunted arms. Its grin was wide, consuming its face, and it had two beady black eyes. It twisted in the air and giggled. “But a friend of mine calls me the purple man.”


	18. Ghost (?) Boy

**|Blog post**

**|Date: XX/XX/XXXX**

**|By: Haley Wilkes**

**GHOST (?) BOY**

Over the past two weeks, the US government has been scrambling to locate the missing plane from Amity flight 117. While that’s been going on, everyone else is watching the curious exploits of the downed plane’s survivors. It doesn’t take a genius to look at the overwhelming evidence and see this entire fiasco is the work of a troublesome spectral entity. I mean, seriously? It’s pure luck that the most recent video went up mere minutes ago, but no one can deny it now. The ghost even showed himself. So while rescue services bumbles around trying to save the people we all know could be dead by now (the videos _are_ only on day four of fifteen), I’m going to address a subject some of you less active may be curious about, but have no intention of actually researching. Because why do it when someone else can do it for you, right?

What is a ghost? There are lots of research papers on the subject, like the government mandated GIW public issue articles, the near psychedelic theories of the Groovy Gang, or the fittingly extreme explanations from the Extreme Ghostbreakers. My suggestion? Ignore all of that. The government lies, and those for profit ghost hunting groups write whatever they think will get them the most money. If you want honest, and accurate answers, there are only two sources I suggest. The Fentons (elder for substance, younger for psyche) and the Ghost-Getter.

If you’re reading this, then you’ve been watching the videos, and I’m just going to assume you know who the Fentons are by this point. Most people do, after their tech became the number one contender for ghost protection last year. If you’ve heard of the Ghost-Getter, I’m impressed, but chances are you haven’t. They’re an independent researcher in the field of ectology, and have only published a few articles online, but they’re top notch. The identity of the Ghost-Getter remains unknown, but it’s obvious they has some less than human friends. They could be a little less than human themselves.

The Ghost-Getter writes a lot about ghost anatomy, and their native home the Ghost Zone. If you want to get into the specifics, I suggest you go find their articles. I’m just going to touch on the basics here and now.

In the Fentons’ earlier works, they often referred to ghosts as protoplasmic entities. The most basic definition of protoplasm is the living content of a cell, which is surrounded by a plasma membrane. It’s said to exist in two forms, either a liquid-like sol state or a jelly-like gel state. Ghost-Getter explains the reason the reason for this referral among his articles on biology. When it comes to ghosts, ectoplasm is a protoplasm. It’s the living content that makes up their entire being, and their outer appearance is the membrane. Unlike humans they don’t have internal organs, but a single ‘core’ that provides their powers, and acts as a nucleus. Everything a ghosts does comes from there. Their ability to change forms as they relate to different states of matter comes from the two different states protoplasm can take. And that, my dear readers, is just the _basics_ of ghost biology. I know it all sounds so one and done, a neat little explanation for everything they are, but trust me. Ghost cores make for a good read.

Now that I’m done with the biology, let’s move on to psyche. For a long time scientists believe ghosts only had negative emotions, and they thrived off them. Before the Fentons discovered the Ghost Zone, ghosts were said to thrive off the pheromones released when mammals enter a state of distress. When the Fentons started their research on an alternate ghostly plane the theory changed, and the Ghost-Getter recently backed up that theory. The atmosphere of the Ghost Zone is comprised of ectoplasm, and ghosts themselves feed off that atmosphere to survive. While there are trace amounts of ectoplasm in the earthly realm, it’s not enough to maintain them for extended periods. With this change in theories, Jasmine Fenton was able to properly start her work on ghost psychology. Through interaction, she learned ghosts have the same range of emotions as humans, and their psychology is very much like hours. The only difference is they don’t have actual brains to study. But again, if you want to learn more about that, read the articles.

Now that you’ve heard the facts, let’s put them to the test, by studying the great hero of Amity Park. Danny Phantom, the most famous ghost in the world. I’m going to admit here and now that’s the whole purpose of this article. You’ll see why when I’m done.

Let’s start with the psyche this time. Most times we only see ghosts during battles, and can’t really attest to what they do in their spare time. They’re probably in the Ghost Zone somewhere, replenishing their ectoplasm. But Danny Phantom can often be seen flying leisurely around Amity Park, and sometimes even talking to the people living there. This provides us with opportunity to observe his emotions and behaviour. We’ve seen him angry, when fighting particularly annoying foes. We’ve seen him worried when people are threatened, and caring when he plays with his dog. Yeah, you read that right. The ghost boy has a ghost dog, though ‘little’ Fido isn’t often seen around town.

Danny Phantom smiles, laughs, and frowns, even when he thinks no one is watching. These expressions provide proof of his varying emotions, emotions we all feel.

To confirm biology, just think blood. Well, not _blood_ , but bleeding Based on their biological makeup, ghosts should bleed. By one definition of the word, at least. If the membrane breaks, the protoplasm is released. In layman’s terms, if you cut them, ectoplasm comes out. Curtesy of traffic cameras and stupid bystanders there is lots of video footage of Danny Phantom’s fights. Watching his wounds, you can see the leaking ectoplasm, confirming his biology.

Since I’m keeping this article simple, that’s all we really need. Phantom displays emotions, and he bleeds. Speaking in terms of biology and psychology, you can now all say you know what a ghost is, which means I can get to the entire reason I started writing today.

How much of a ghost is Danny Phantom really?

Without an energy source, ghosts need to return to the Ghost Zone to replenish their energy, especially after a fight. But I just said Danny Phantom is seen around Amity Park all the time. Even after his fights he lingers for hours, sometimes getting into even more fights during that time. I’ve studied the footage, and nothing I’ve seen him to can be classified as energy grabbing. So unlike other ghosts, Phantom doesn’t need to return to the Ghost Zone and can stay in our realm for possibly an indefinite amount of time.

I noticed something else while watching hours of poor quality phone footage. Phantom’s enemies rarely bleed. It can be theorized that Phantom simply takes more of a beating, since he’s the good guy and doesn’t go all out. But he’s still stronger than them, and should cause injury. This means there’s something about him that makes either bleeding or tearing his membrane easier. Considering his power levels and overall strength, a weak membrane is unlikely.

There’s just one more thing I’d like to address before leaving you to your conspiratorial thoughts. In the fifteen days since Amity 117 went missing, Danny Phantom hasn’t been seen once, despite ghosts still showing up in his town. I can really only think of one conclusion, Danny Phantom was on that flight, which means our little hero has a secret, _human_ , identity.

#WhosIsDannyPhantom


	19. Profiles, Fifth Set

_Welcome to **Amity 117** chat forum_

**_KingArthur_ has logged in**

**_KingArthur_ has sent a FILE**

**…**

_FILE :external import: [PAULINA_SANCHEZ]_

**Name:** Paulina Sanchez

 **Age:** 18

 **Appearance:** Dark brown hair, turquoise eyes

**Outside sources:**

Second richest high schooler in Amity Park

Self-proclaimed Queen of Casper High

Moved to Amity Park in grade seven

Honestly, just look at her Instagram, Twitter, Facebook etc., there’s nothing she hasn’t posted

**Video reveals:**

Bossy

Cares about her appearance more than her classmates

Step-brother died

Protective of Leo (?)

Lots of people don’t like her

…

**_LordOfMud_ has logged in**

**_BoyWes_ has logged in**

**_Boy Wes:_** Damn, ur still on profiles? What the hell

 ** _KingArthur:_** There’s a lot of people to cover.

 ** _LordOfMud:_** Hey, don’t hate on the KING!

 ** _LordOfMud:_** I’ll feed you to the ghostz

 ** _BoyWes:_** Ghosts don’t eat people

 ** _LordOfMud:_** Well excUUUUUze me for not living in Amity Park!

**_Fantomo_ has logged in**

**_Mud-of-Solitude_ has logged in**

**_Fantomo:_** I don’t like her

 ** _BoyWes:_** No one likes her. Except Dash.

**_NoIsY_ has logged in**

**_KingArthur:_** Everyone hates her, is that all you guys have to say?

 ** _NoIsY:_** Pretty Much

 ** _BoyWes:_** Man, you only just joined. How do you know what we’re talking about?

 ** _NoIsY:_** There’s No One Else Everyone Doesn’t Like

 ** _BoyWes:_** … I’ll give you that

 ** _King Arthur_** **has sent a FILE**

…

_FILE :external import: [MIKEY_HINAM]_

**Name:** Michael Hinam

 **Age:** 16

 **Appearance:** Red hair, green eyes

**Outside sources:**

Skipped a grade at some point

Math genius

Best student in Casper High

**Video reveals:**

Quietest nerd

Can’t see for s*** without his glasses

We haven’t really seen enough of him at this point

…

 ** _LordOfMud:_** Why’z it so empty? And I though there waz no swearing?

 ** _KingArthur:_** He’s not on social media, and this is the only exception

 ** _LordOfMud:_** WAT? What person doezn’t have social media?

 ** _Fantomo_** : That one

 ** _LordOfMud:_** MY WORD!

 ** _Mud-of-Solitude:_** Lots of people don’t have social media. I don’t

 ** _LordOfMud:_** Then what’z this, peazant?

 ** _Mud-of-Solitude:_** A one-time thing

 ** _LordOfMud:_** You break my heart

 ** _Mud-of-Solitude:_** I don’t really care

 ** _LordOfMud:_** O.o --X.X-- >

 ** _LordOfMud:_** You killed me

 ** _Fantomo:_** Okay… what’s the next one?

 ** _KingArthur:_** Thank you for asking

**_KingArthur_ has sent a FILE**

…

_FILE :external import: [VALERIE_GRAY]_

**Name:** Valerie Gray

 **Age:** 18

 **Appearance:** Dark brown hair, teal eyes

**Outside sources:**

Works part time in security and fast food

Father is a security guard, used to own a company, worked for Axiom Labs

Usually either working or studying

Sometimes disappears from class, like Fenton

Average student

Used to really hate ghosts

**Video reveals:**

Broke her leg in the crash (obviously)

Really hates Paulina (do I even have to write it at this point?)

Someone close to her died

“Torn down” by the A-listers

Friends with the trio (presumably)

Quite possibly a badass, no solid proof yet

...

 ** _BoyWes_ :** That chick, a badass? No way. Rux was wrong too. Sam, sure, but not Danny

 ** _LordOfMud_ : **Danny’z so BAMF!

 ** _BoyWes:_** He’s the bane of my existence!

 ** _BoyWes:_** Why does no one else see it?!??

 ** _Mud-of-Solitude:_** See what?

 ** _BoyWes:_** The truth -.-

 ** _Fantomo:_** No, there’s no truth

 ** _BoyWes:_** That just proves you know!

 ** _Fantomo:_** Know what? I don’t know anything

 ** _KingArthur:_** I know!

 ** _BoyWes:_** You do?

 ** _KingArthur:_** It’s a king’s job to know everything about their kingdom

 ** _NoIsY:_** Is Anyone Else Confused?

 ** _Mud-of-Solitude:_** Yes. Very much so

 ** _KingArthur:_** Drumroll please! I present to you, the final two profiles!

**_KingArthur_ has sent 2 FILES**

…

_FILE :external import: [KAY_PREHENNES]_

**Name:** Katherine Prehennes

 **Age:** Unknown

 **Appearance:** Dark hair, brown eyes

**Outside sources:**

None

**Video reveals:**

Leo’s mother

…

_FILE :external import: [LEO_PREHENNES]_

**Name:** Leonor Prehennes

 **Age:** 7

 **Appearance:** Dark hair, brown eyes

**Outside sources:**

None

**Video reveals:**

She speaks to the purple man

Likes Danny Phantom

A fan of superheroes

She’s adorable

…

 ** _NoIsY:_** That’s It?

 ** _KingArthur:_** Yep

 ** _Mud-of-Solitude:_** I get Leo’s being pretty empty, she’s flipping seven, you’re not gonna get much from outside sources. But Kay?

 ** _KingArthur:_** Internet searches brought up nothing. Spoke to some people I know, apparently they haven’t lived in Amity long.

**_TechMaster_ has logged in**

**_TechMaster:_** I, the great and powerful TechMaster, can help you with that

 ** _Fantomo:_** Why do _you_ want to help?

 ** _TechMaster:_** You humans are not the only ones who want to locate this ‘island’

 ** _LordOfMud:_** You’re not human?

 ** _TechMaster:_** No! I am Technus, master of all technology!

 ** _Mud-of-Solitude:_** You’re a ghost? I knew this was a bad idea

 ** _NoIsY:_** Do You Know Who Did This?

 ** _LordOfMud:_** There’z the positive Fallout I’ve missed so much!

 ** _TechMaster:_** No, but my allies and I have concerning theories

 ** _LordOfMud:_** R u one of the ghosts Danny talks to?

 ** _TechMaster:_** I’ve had my share of… talks with the Fenton brat

 ** _Mud-of-Solitude:_** Aren’t you one of the bad guys?

 ** _TechMaster:_** If that’s your opinion. But with the ghost boy absent, I am free to control all the technology in Amity Park!

 ** _Fantomo:_** … I’ll be right back

**_Fantomo_ has logged out**

**_KingArthur:_** Did any of you guys see the new Wilkes blog?

 ** _BoyWes:_** What’s that?

 ** _KingArthur:_** Oh, right. You weren’t on last time she was mentioned. Look up _Sangreal_ _of_ _Secrets_ , it’s a blog. The writer is Haley Wilkes.

 ** _BoyWes:_** Okay

**_BoyWes_ has logged out**

**_Mud-of-Solitude:_** I haven’t read it yet. Be right back

**_Mud-of-Solitude_ has logged out**

**_KingArthur:_** What did the rest of you think?

 ** _LordOfMud:_** It’z so cool! The Ghost Boy could be on the island!

 ** _NoIsY:_** It’s Interesting. But If He’s Really There, Why Isn’t He Helping?

 ** _LordOfMud:_** He’z considered a criminal, duh. He’z not gonna reveal himself

 ** _NoIsY:_** He Doesn’t Know They’re Being Watched Though

 ** _LordOfMud:_** He could

 ** _KingArthur:_** You’re forgetting the obvious question. Who _is_ he, if he’s really there?

 ** _LordOfMud:_** Maybe he’s Danny!

 ** _NoIsY:_** I Doubt It

 ** _LordOfMud:_** You’re lozing your pozitivity again…

 ** _NoIsY:_** I’m Just Saying, Just Because The Ghost Boy Might Be More Boy Than We Know, That Doesn’t Mean He Looks Any Different. There Are 31 Missing People. He Could Be With Them

 ** _LordOfMud:_** Maybe

 ** _TechMaster:_** grtyhugjikl

**_TehcnMaster_ has logged out**

**_NoIsY:_** What?

**_Fantomo_ has logged in**

**_Fantomo:_** Sorry about that, I had to take care of something

 ** _KingArthur:_** Nice left hook

 ** _Fantomo:_** Uh thanks?

 ** _KingArthur:_** Anytime. Did you read the Wilkes blog?

 ** _Fantomo:_** Yeah

 ** _KingArthur:_** Annnnd?

 ** _Fantomo:_** Well, I mean, heh, that’s not possible, right? Pff, ghosts can’t be human

 ** _KingArthur:_** Really?

 ** _Fantomo:_** … Shut up…

**_Mud-of-Solitude_ has logged in**

**_Mud-of-Solitude:_** That was absolutely ridiculous

 ** _LordOfMud:_** What?

 ** _Mud-of-Solitude_** : That was so stupid! How can anyone make such a big assumption like that?

 ** _LordOfMud:_** Hey! That Wilkes chick is a great theorist!

 ** _Mud-of-Solitude:_** Sure, her other stuff has a lot of evidence, but this is rly lacking! “Only one explanation? That’s total baloney! Phantom doesn’t fight all out, and he doesn’t use cutting attacks, of course he’s gonna bleed more than his enemies that use swords and explosives! Just because we see Phantom around a lot, doesn’t mean he never goes to the Ghost Zone. She even said they could have another way of replenishing energy without the Zone. You can’t just suddenly assume a ghost could be human, or partly human, without any actual facts! It’s pure speculation, and honestly, it calls into question her other work.

 ** _LordOfMud:_** Dude… harsh that’z so not like you

 ** _KingArthur:_** I think it’s excellent. You’re questioning what she wrote. She didn’t provide facts, so maybe you should find some yourself.

 ** _Fantomo:_** It was a little… reaching, but I sort of think she knows more than she said

 ** _Mud-of-Solitude:_** Then say it! Besides, just because we haven’t seen stuff, doesn’t mean it hasn’t happened. Has anyone _ever_ seen Phantom’s big fights? No one remembers anything about when some ghost tried to jungle-ize the world, no one was there to see Phantom fighting that Dark dude, _both_ times. His enemies could have bled lots then, because Phantom would be fighting _all out_

 ** _KingArthur:_** Perfectly true. Now, I have one question for you. Have you ever seen the videos of Phantom fighting?

 ** _Mud-of-Solitude:_** Yeah

 ** _KingArthur:_** Good. That means you’ve seen Phantom _punch through concrete._ All it takes is a few good punches to break skin during an average fight. Phantom has enough strength to break concrete, when he’s holding back. It’s guaranteed to break skin if he ever hits you, that’s some serious blunt force trauma. While Phantom’s enemies _can_ be strong, they aren’t as strong as him, so they can’t cause the same amount of damage. But their attacks break his skin, while his doesn’t break theirs. Conclusion? Phantom has thinner skin. Why would he have thinner skin, if he’s so powerful? His ghostly biological makeup is hindered by human genetics

 ** _Mud-of-Solitude:_** Okay, that makes some sense. But then why didn’t Wilkes just say it? She seems to know a lot, if she went more in depth about the biology, then no one would question it. Or at least less people would. It’s still a really out there theory

 ** _KingArthur:_** Because then you wouldn’t have thought about it yourself. Now that you know you might be wrong, aren’t you going to look into it more?

 ** _Mud-of-Solitude:_** Probably…

 ** _KingArthur:_** Then that means she did a good job :)

 ** _Mud-of-Solitude:_** But that statement, “I can really only think of one conclusion”? I hate it. There’s always more than one possible conclusion

 ** _KingArthur:_** Possible being the operative word. Only one of them is actually right

 ** _Fantomo:_** So… everyone just believes her?

 ** _LordOfMud:_** I do

 ** _NoIsY:_** Maybe. I Think It Could Be True, But Don’t Know If It Is

**_BoyWes_ has logged in**

**_KingArthur:_** You missed the big argument. What’d you think?

 ** _BoyWes:_** _I KNEW IT!_ I knew I was right, and I wasn’t crazy, and all of you are idiots for not listening to me sooner!

 ** _LordOfMud:_** Um, what?

 ** _BoyWes:_** DANNY FENTON IS DANNY PHANTOM!

** ERROR **

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	20. Danny Phenton

“This is Lance Thunder, Action News, wondering why a weatherman is doing the anchor’s job.” For what seemed to be no other reason than the peaceful setting, Lance Thunder was standing in the middle of Amity Park’s Amit Park, and sending a sour look at someone off camera. “Lately the Survivalists, as they’ve been titled, have been the center of everyone’s attention, and it’s no surprise. As the government employs search parties, everyone else sits and watches, eager and apprehensive to see the fate of those lost in the crash. With the days witnessed in these mysterious videos barely numbering four, there’s no way of knowing at this point whether the crash survivors are even alive, or if the next video we see will be their final moments. Along with the videos, many theories have sprouted up online.”

Lance started walking down the park path, and a few citizens in the background waved at the camera.

“The most recent and prominent theory to take hold concerns Amity Park’s own ghostly protector, Danny Phantom, and how much of a ghost he really may be. The discussion was sparked by blogger Haley Wilkes who, after the most recent video, published an article detailing ghostly psychology and physiology. At the end of the article, she concludes that Danny Phantom, due to his differences from other ghosts, may be partly human.”

“Phantom rules!” A voice shouted from of screen. The head of a young teenage boy popped into view, and he gave a quick fist pump before ducking away. Lance watched the boy scamper away with a bored expression before resuming.

“Many people have questioned Wilkes’ reasoning, especially when the article seems to jump to the conclusion, and doesn’t list all the facts. Wilkes’ more loyal followers have defended her strongly. Other theorists have since uploaded their own articles detailing bolstering Wilkes’ opinion, or tearing it down. There has been little talk over Phantom’s actual identity, if Wilkes’ conspiracy proves true, but one forum has sparked the strongest debate yet. Amity 117 Chat Forum is a private, and anonymously owned and operated site by an individual calling themselves **_KingArthur_**. The forum, created not long after the first video appeared, is a place for individuals eager to discuss the Survivalists to gather. It also appears to be the place where the name ‘Survivalists’ was first used to describe those stranded on the island.”

Lance stopped walking, now in a more populated section of the park. Behind him, and coming closer, a boy could be seen that looked strikingly like Danny Phantom. His hair, though red, was styled similarly, and he had green eyes. He looked to be the right height and was fairly lean. Replace the red hair with white, and the basketball uniform with a black and while jumpsuit, and he could be the town hero.

“While the last session ended in the forum crashing, the last message sent from one of the users could be the biggest revelation of the decade. User **_BoyWes_** , local Amity resident and Casper High student Wes Weston, boldly stated that Danny Fenton is Danny Phantom.”

In the corner of the screen, a shot of the chat forum flashed across the screen, featuring Wes’ announcement. The redhead that had been slowly approaching was level with Lance now, and stopped beside him rather than continuing on his way.

“With my I have Wes Weston himself to voice his thoughts on the subject.” Lance turned to the boy who looked like Danny Phantom. “Most people of Amity Park know Danny Fenton to be a quiet and clumsy boy with poor or average grades. What led to make such a rash conclusion?”

Wes slipped his back off his shoulders while he started talking. “I wasn’t really interested in it at first. Like everyone else, I thought Phantom was cool and just thought he was a ghost. But after his approval rating went up, a few people came up to me and asked if _I_ was Phantom, which is ridiculous.”

Wes scoffed and shook his head. “Some of them even knew me, and knew I wasn’t dead, but they still thought I could be Phantom. So I decided to find out who he was myself. Once I started looking it didn’t take long.”

He reached into his backpack and took out a stack of papers. He took the first one and shoved it towards the camera. It was a line graph. The horizontal axis read ‘Bathroom Breaks’ while the vertical one was titled ‘Ghost Attacks.’

“I’ve always had a lot of classes with Danny, and after a while I noticed he asked for a lot of bathroom breaks, and a lot of times right before Danny Phantom would be seen fighting. I started logging the number of times Fenton asked to be excused, and compared it to the number of Phantom sightings. The more times Danny disappeared from the class, the more Phantom was seen during school hours.” He shoved the chart back in his back and held out the next paper. It had a series of pictures, obviously taken while trying to be unnoticed, of Danny Fenton. His aging was obvious, as well as the slight wardrobe changes. “Fenton was a scrawny nerd when he started high school. After I started watching him, I saw he started to wear long, baggy clothes more. Obviously to hide the scars from ghost fighting, and the muscles. He even opted out of the few swim classes that are part of our gym curriculum, claiming it was for some medical condition.”

Wes put the creepy, stalker style photos away and raised two full sized photos. One of Danny Phantom, obviously taken from a newspaper. The other a yearbook photo of Danny Fenton. He held them close together so everyone could see the similarities. “I mean, _come on_. They have the same face! How dense do you have to be? Not to mention the names. Danny _Fenton_ , and Danny _Phantom_. It’s not even that creative!”

Wes’ voice had risen and he was talking faster now. “I’ve been saying it for years, but no one ever believed me! They always said he couldn’t their hero because he’s a loser, or clumsy. Or because his parents are ghost hunters, and they would know! You know what Fenton used to say to that? His parents couldn’t catch a ghost if it was living under their noses! He wasn’t even _trying_ to hide it, and no one besides me ever saw it. But you all believe me now, right?”

He had stepped towards the camera, yelling into it. His eyes were wide and he was pointing accusingly. It was no surprise that the camera shook a little as the person holding it back away. Lance was staring blankly at Wes. As the only reporter ever to be swarmed by vicious skeletal ghosts, one conspiracy crazy teen was nothing.

“Thank you, Wes.” Lancer nodded at the camera and started walking briskly away. Off screen Wes must have recovered from his excited state, because he was shouting after them.

“I always knew it!”

“There you have one… interesting theory about Danny Phantom and his identity. Is it true? Could Danny Fenton be the ghost boy we all know and love?”

The words **Danny Phenton** drifted across the bottom of the screen.

“Tune in to Ghost Watch with Tiffany Snow tomorrow, where she will interview Haley Wilkes, the Fentons will return once again, and a surprise guest will make an appearance, perhaps to settle this debate once and for all.”


	21. Until Proven Ghostly

The video started with Tucker, huffing and puffing as he ran through the trees. The camera was focused on his face, eyes wide and constantly looking over his shoulder at the others. At first, the viewers were worried there’s another ghost attacking. The people watching were tense, expecting a foe to jump out at the fleeing teens, and adult, at any moment. Suddenly Tucker disappeared from view.

“Tucker!” Star shouted. She, Kwan, and Grayson stopped running, stumbling to a standstill. It seemed like one of them would disappear next, until the camera swivelled behind them. It showed a break in the trees, the sky and ocean blending together, and a strip of sandy beaches. Lying face down on the golden grains was Tucker. He was digging into the sand, lifting it up by the handfuls, and watching it fall through his fingers.

“Finally!” Tucker cheered, but it sounded weak. In fact, everyone in Tucker’s group looked weak. They were panting, dirt smeared across their faces and arms. Star’s hair was a tangled mess, and Kwan’s shirt was hanging off of him in shreds, small scratches adorning his torso. Grayson’s suit was no longer immaculate, although it was already impressive it had remained relatively tidy at all in their situation. His pant legs and sleeves were rolled up, and his nice shoes were covered in scratches, smudges, and dirt. His previously combed back hair was messy and hanging in front of his eyes.

Many women, and a few men, watching the video realized that Grayson looked pretty good. Now that there was no need to run, they all collapsed, stretching out to touch the sand.

“You could have… at least told us… _why_ you were running,” Grayson panted.

“I did,” Tucker gasped into the sand, rolling onto his back.

“Shouting… ‘free wolf…’ doesn’t count,” Star said as she caught her breath.

“I said Wulf, actually,” Tucker corrected, and the word **Wulf** flashed across the bottom of the screen. He sat up, chest no longer heaving, and shook the sand from his hair. “It’s a code.”

“For what?” Star snapped.

“Freedom, sort of. It applies to a lot of things.” Tucker shrugged.

“I’ve never heard of it,” Kwan said.

“Only Sam, Danny, and I use it. It’s a nerd thing?” Tucker’s statement sounded more like a question. The viewers who believed the Danny Phenton theory immediately translated ‘nerd thing’ to mean ‘ghost hunting thing’. Suddenly, a lot of things the trio said in the early videos made sense. Sort of.

“In case it isn’t obvious, we’re not nerds,” Star reminded him with a huff.

“But you _are_ the closest thing to nerds the A-listers have!” Tucker laughed, while Kwan looked sheepish and Star scowled at the techno-geek.

“As entertaining as all this is, we should keep going,” Grayson interrupted, reminding the three teenagers of their goal.

“And we didn’t even find any food,” Star grumbled miserably, hunching over slightly. For a moment her growling stomach was audible to the viewers. The others nodded somberly.

“Maybe the others had more luck,” Tucker offered, but he didn’t sound confident. Many people watching felt a pang of pity for the group. It was obvious some people on the island, namely Danny’s group and Dylan’s group, sans Jon, were doing better. They were able to find food, and water. But those stuck back at the plane, Lancer and Tucker’s group were having a lot less luck. A few people even considered how the ghost or ghosts responsible for everything could be influencing that.

“Stupid ghosts,” Tucker muttered, kicking at the sand as he started walking. Star gave him a confused look, and everyone watching was immediately reminded that the trio were the only ones who actually had any idea of what was going on right now, and they hadn’t told anyone yet.

It could be funny, watching everything from the outside and realizing you have more of the facts than the people directly involved.

“What do ghosts have to do with anything?” Star asked.

Tucker’s step faltered as he seemed to realize the same thing the viewers did. “Oh, um… everything, sort of.”

“What?” Star and Grayson chorused.

“We didn’t want anyone to panic!” Tucker quickly defended himself. “Danny probably knew from the start, and told us the situation during the bonfire.”

“What makes you say we would have panicked?” Grayson asked sternly. “My partner, my _son_ is _dead_ because of those ghosts!”

“We- your son?” Tucker faltered, argument dying in his throat. Grayson’s eyes widened, as if he only just realized what he said, and he clapped a hand over his mouth.

“You did kind of look alike,” Kwan added quietly.

“He was, I… shut up,” Grayson snapped and stalked down the beach. Tucker and Kwan watched him go, both of them wearing slightly pitying expressions. But Star continued to glare at Tucker, and the boys awkwardly shifted their gazes back to her.

“I knew Paulina was right. This is all Fenton’s fault, isn’t it?” Star spat. She kicked sand at Tucker’s leg and turned with a huff, following the oldest member of their little group. Tucker gave Kwan an exasperated look.

“ _That’s_ why we didn’t tell anyone. We knew people would blame Danny.” Tucker sighed, and his and Star’s words struck a chord with the viewers.

Could this all have been Danny’s fault? If he really was Phantom, he would have accumulated a lot of enemies. Many ghosts were dangerous, who knew what they’d be willing to do if only to get back at Danny Phantom. Those that didn’t feel a sudden anger towards the Fenton boy were uncomfortable with this revelation, knowing he would have gained those enemies defending regular people like themselves.

Kwan nodded slowly, almost like he was agreeing the viewers thoughts, even though he had no idea they were there.

“Grayson, he’s cried every night.”

Tucker’s gaze, which had been drifting towards the older man, snapped back to Kwan. “What?”

“It always takes me a while to sleep. Every night, I heard someone crying. I wasn’t surprised, this is scary, but now I realize. It was him.”

Tucker looked almost guilty as he turned away, and the viewers quickly realized something. Tucker, like everyone else, had his suspicions on how much of their situation was a result of Danny’s ghost hunting.

…

“I hate the sun.”

The camera was tilted upwards, towards the sun, and panned down to look into the perfectly cylindrical hole Jon was still trapped in, and where the daytime star was beating down.

“I hate it.” The teenager mumbled again. His shirt, permanently stained by the dirt, had been removed and was thrown over his head. His injured leg was once again laid out before him, the fabric stained red, and he tilted his head towards it.

“I hate legs to, and holes. And ghosts. And Fenton. That bastard should have told us what he knew.” Jon banged his head against the dirt wall several times before looking up. “Are you guys there?”

Two weak yesses were head as the camera moved right, revealing Casey and Dylan lying on the grass. There was a bed of leaves beside them, stacked with various berries. Dylan’s eyes were shut tight as he massaged his forehead, and Casey was frowning skyward. The camera, which hovered directly above them, left no shadow on their forms.

“A human chain?” Casey said.

Dylan quickly shot down her idea. “Neither of us are strong enough to pull up two people, and there isn’t anything for leverage up here.”

“How about you guys just keep chucking stuff in here, and I keep moving on top of it. Eventually I’ll reach the top.”

“We don’t have anything with enough substance to throw. Leaves would take forever, and they could just decompose anyways. Plus you could sink into them. If we use rocks, we could accidentally hit you.”

“I still like a human chain,” Casey mused.

“Nothing works!” Dylan protested. “This is the end! Jon’s going to get an infection and die.”

“I won’t die!” Jon snapped. “I’m not gonna get a stupid infection.”

“But you will, especially since-”

“Hey! We agreed not to talk about that! I have limited space down here.”

The more insightful viewers cringed and gagged, catching on to what Jon’s implication.

“But… it might be better for you guys to find your way back to the plane.”

Casey immediately sat up and crawled to the edge of the hole. “Don’t you dare say that! You said it yourself, you’re not going to die. If we leave you, then you _will_ die.”

“And if you don’t so could you! That ghost could come back, or another ghost could come, or you could run out of food, and then it wouldn’t matter that you stuck around!” Jon sounded.

“Hey! It’s my job to theorize,” Dylan grumbled.

“And it’s my job to be pissy, so hurry up and think of something!” Despite Jon’s apparent willingness for self-sacrifice, he still sounded worried, and almost scared. It would be hard not to be in his situation.

Dylan sat up, burying his face in his hands, and groaned. “We can look for vines again.”

“I thought you guys didn’t find any last time.” Jon’s voice drifted upwards.

“We couldn’t. But this time, we stick together, and we go farther. We can mark the trees so we know what way we came from and won’t get lost,” Dylan suggested, lifting his head.

“… You couldn’t think of that yesterday?”

“I was really stressed yesterday, okay? I don’t see you taking the lead!”

Jon fell silent at Dylan’s outburst, which had surprised the viewers as well. It was interesting, became Dylan did seem to be the one in charge of their little triad, even though he didn’t seem like the kind of person that would normally do that. In fact, to most people, Jon was more like the type to step up and take charge. With the way he was butting heads with Danny on the first night, it certainly seemed to be the case. Apparently not.

Nerds around the world cheered their compatriots onwards as the seconds on the video ticked by.

“Uh, right. Could you just, could you just get me out of here?”

Dylan nodded, even though Jon couldn’t see him, and stood up. Casey followed, and they both started scouring the ground for sharp rocks. After several seconds, they each had one in hand, and set off.

“I’ll just sit here,” Jon said, but they were already gone. “… I _hate_ holes. And Fenton, I totally hate Fenton now.”

…

“So who’s ‘the girlfriend?” Danny asked. His group didn’t look any worse than the previous video, which was still much better than most of the other people on the island. Danny had rewrapped his injured arm, this time with leaves, and what little had remained of his sleeves. His muscles, and numerous scars, were now clearly visible for all to witness, further driving home the possibility that this _teenager_ may be the hero that’s saved countless lives. Through the hole in his shirt, a similar green covering could be seen plastered along his side

“She’s-” Will started to answer, but was interrupted by Rux.

“A question for a question!” She demanded. “We answer one of yours, you gotta answer one of ours. Deal?”

Danny looked back at the younger woman over his shoulder, his gaze first calculating, then amused. “Twenty questions?”

Rux nodded.

“Deal. So, who’s the girlfriend?”

“She’s just that, the girlfriend,” Rux said, nudging Will. He swatted her hand away, but smiled as he did so. “All on her lonesome back in Amity. Probably worried sick about her perfect other half.”

Will rolled his eyes and shook his head. “How’d you even hear that anyways? You guys were a little preoccupied.”

“We were?” Danny asked.

“You were, and that counts as a question! You were fighting off the ghosts,” Rux answered.

“Oh.” The camera panned around to see Danny’s wide eyes. He winced and glanced at Sam, who shot him a disapproving look while shaking her head. It was quickly replaced with a knowing smirk. “I have good hearing.”

“But you-”

Rux quickly slapped a hand over Will’s mouth and hissed, “Don’t waste a question!”

Will rolled his eyes again and dragged her hand away. “Why was your class on the plane?”

“School trip,” Danny answered shortly. Sam quickly elaborated.

“Class trip. We’re all part of the Ghost class, advanced stream. They had a sort of preliminary class last year. When ghosts became known worldwide, it became official. Anyone who took the class last year got into the advanced one this year. And the class with the highest grades always get to go on a trip.”

“Cool. Wish they had that when I went to Casper High,” Rux mused.

“Why are you guys so calm? Casper High is closer to the middle of the city, where more ghost attacks happen. Our whole class is pretty used to chaos. But the university is out of the ghost’s way. I can’t imagine you’ve been involved in lots of big attacks. Most normal people would be freaking out,” Sam asked.

“Hey, I’m not normal!” Rux protested.

“Books and TV,” Will rushed, before Rux could properly answer. Danny shot him a questioning glance, and the older boy shrugged. “It’s just, books and TV. Leave it at that, please?”

Will’s eyes briefly darted towards Rux, who was ignoring them at the moment in favour of staring up at the sun. Danny focused on her a moment, and it almost looked like his eyes grew a little brighter, until he blinked at it disappeared before anyone could really see it.

“Okay.”

“Good, my turn. It is _my_ game. How long have you two been dating?” Rux asked, pointing at Sam and Danny. The two ravens froze, identical blushes on their cheeks, and rounded on Rux.

“He’s not my boyfriend!”

“She’s not my girlfriend!” They protested, in unison, with equal vehemence. The young not-a-couple avoided eye contact with each other.

“I don’t believe it, kid.” Rux shook her head and strolled past them.

“We’re not dating,” the teens muttered at the same time. They caught each other’s gaze, and Danny quickly rushed ahead, taking the lead once again, while Sam hung back a little.

“You should tell her,” Rux whispered when Danny passed.

“Nothing to tell,” Danny protested, his lie obvious. “What makes you think there is?”

“That counts as your question. And I just know these things.” Rux smirked. “So those ghosts before, how’d you fight them without weapons? You just touched it, and poof.”

“Who said I didn’t have weapons?”

“ _That_ counts as another question, you’re bad at this. And you have nowhere to keep any weapons.” Rux motioned to Danny’s torn pants, and what little remained of his shirt.

“But I _do._ ” Danny slipped something from his left hand and dropped it into Rux’s palm. It was a small gold band, a ring. It looked like there was something written inside.

“What does it say Wes?”

“That’s another question for you, and it doesn’t,” Danny said.

“It totally does, see? Although, if you flip it the other way…”

“It doesn’t say Wes!” Danny snatched the ring back and returned it to his pinky, the only finger it would fit. “Those are just scratches, from when it was assembled.”

“And you say it’s a weapon. What does it do?”

“That’s three in a row, Rux. When it’s activated, it messes with the ectoplasm bonding the ghost together, makes it disintegrate on contact. Then, poof.”

“Poof.”

“Exactly.” Danny nodded and shoved his hand into his pocket. Rux frowned, staring at it, and the viewers did too. Something about Danny’s story didn’t seem right. The possibility of that small ring being a weapon could very well be true, with his ghost hunting parents. But still, there was something that bothered the people watching.

But everyone was distracted by the clearing the group happened upon. Most of the surrounding trees looked different, but the bare banana tree, and the path of destruction cutting through the forest was unmistakable. Though Sam was the only one who knew it for what it was.

“Whoa. Hey, Will, imagine that, but a river,” Rux said, pointing to the path torn through the trees.

“A little small for a river.” Will frowned.

“That’s why you imagine! What would this place be?”

“A weird forest. With a river.”

“Mossflower,” Rux whispered, almost reverently. “But if there’s no river, it could be Dark Forest, then we’re totally all dead right now.”

“Danny, do you know what she’s saying this time?” Sam asked, nudging her friend.

“Nope,” Danny muttered back.

“Come on, kid. You were doing so well. It’s Redwall.” Rux gestured grandly, as if that would suddenly make the knowledge appear in his mind. Danny just shook his head.

“No idea,” Sam vocalized.

“What happened?”

“Ghosts, big ghosts.”

“That goes towards the plane,” Danny said, nodding to the path of wreckage.

“Are they in danger?” Sam asked.

“Not from them.”

“’Them’ being the ghosts doing all this?” Rux asked innocently. Danny and Sam looked at her, surprise evident on the Goth’s face, but Fenton’s was neutral. “What? We were attacked by ghosts, ghosts attacked everyone else. It would be an awful big coincidence if they all just _happened_ to be residing here when we crashed.”

“I always forget not everyone’s an idiot,” Sam muttered.

“Everyone _is_ an idiot,” Danny corrected her, eliciting many unheard cries of protest from those watching. “They’re just smart at some things.

Sam gave him an amused look. “Where was this Danny Fenton in middle school?”

“He wasn’t dead yet.” Despite the morbid comment, the two friends actually burst out laughing. They didn’t hang around the clearing much longer. Danny seemed to study the area, although as far as anyone watching could tell, there wasn’t much to see besides some trampled plants. They resumed their walk, and Sam took up the game of questions again.

“What do you study, at university?”

“Lame question. I’m an art student,” Rux said.

“And Will?”

“He dabbles, mostly does self-publishing on the side.”

“Really? What kind of-”

“Stop,” Danny commanded, and they did. Even Will, who was still several paces behind. The Fenton boy stood up straight, glaring into the trees. The camera panned around, showing nothing.

“More ghosts?” Will asked quietly.

Danny seemingly ignored him and instead stepped forwards, placing his feet carefully. The foliage up ahead was thick, the trees closer together and the bushes more wild. Anything could be hiding in there. He looked back at the others once, taking in Rux’s excitement, Will’s curious worry, and Sam’s careful gaze, before disappearing into the trees.

A few seconds later, there was a scream.

Sam dashed forwards, then quickly stumbled back as a body, one that wasn’t Danny’s, tumbled out of the leaves. Brown hair, green eyes, and a twitchy habit. Dylan quickly scrambled upright, staring at the others.

“We found someone!” He cheered.

“And nearly blew his ear drum out,” Danny said as he emerged behind Dylan, with the cabin attendant in tow. He was rubbing his ear.

“That was you?” Rux asked, and she giggled.

“Hush, Rux,” Will chided, slapping her lightly. The young woman hardly stifled her laughter.

“I will have you know, that I’m very jumpy,” Dylan defended himself. “And Danny… what happened to you? Was it a predator? Were you attacked? Are you going to bleed out too?!”

“We were attacked, but he’s not going to bleed out,” Sam said.

“And too?” Danny added.

“We were running from this wolf ghost thing, and we climbed a tree, then fell out into this oddly perfect hole that I swear wasn’t there before, and Jon injured himself. We got out, but he’s still down there, and what if he dies too?” Dylan’s explanation was rushed and panicked, and Danny grabbed his shoulders. The Fenton boy didn’t say anything, just gave Dylan a _look_ , and he immediately calmed down.

“Where is he?” Sam asked.

“We marked the trees, it’s this way,” Casey waved them forwards and showed them to the first marking, then pointed to another not too far away. Danny touched the bark and scowled lightly, dragging his fingers along the gouge. The others started moving, but he immediately stopped them.

“Not that way.” He went off in the other direction. Sam followed without hesitation while the others shared confused glances.

“You made these, right?” Will asked.

“Yeah.” Casey nodded.

“And you came from that direction?” He pointed where the markings went.

“Yep,” Dylan confirmed.

Will looked skeptical, but Rux had already started moving. “Fenton hasn’t led us wrong so far, not that I know where he’s even leading us. I guess I’ll follow.”

Casey looked at the trail they had marked, then at the three quickly receding backs. “We shouldn’t be separated.”

“Right, bad things happen. Wait for us!” Dylan called and ran after them.

…

The screen cut to what was quickly becoming a familiar, and rather uneventful sight, to the viewers. Jon, doing nothing, while sitting in the bottom of his hole. A few people questioned why he was even being showing again. Without Casey or Dylan around, there really wasn’t anything to see. At least that’s what they thought, until two black eyes distinguished themselves from the surrounding dirt.

Jon remained oblivious for several seconds, unaware of the shouts of warning being called at computer, cellphone, and TV screens across the continents many days too late. When he did look up he jumped and tried to scramble back, jarring his leg and releasing a hiss of pain. A purple teardrop body formed around the eyes, much like the Cheshire cat and his grin, and the Purple Man raised his four arms.

“Don’t panic, I’m not going to hurt you,” the ghost said in a surprisingly soothing voice.

“Like hell I won’t panic! Get away from me!” Jon lashed out at the ghost, but his hand passed harmlessly through it.

“I already said I’m not going to hurt you. I can’t yet, not when I don’t know if you’re going to be one of the interesting ones.” The Purple Man grinned slyly, floating closer to the invalid boy. Jon pushed himself along the wall, not getting any further away.

“What the hell are you here for?” Jon spat.

“I need your help with something.”

“What the f- I’m not gonna help you!” Jon shook his head sharply.

“Yes, you will.” The Purple Man’s voice lowered, and Jon immediately stopped moving. “That’s better! Now, I need you to do something for me.”

The ghost floated closer and whispered something in Jon’s ear, but the camera didn’t catch it, most likely on purpose. The ghost pulled away with another grin plastered across its face and faded from view while Jon sat there, unresponsive, for what felt like a long time. The spell was broken when a sharp scream pierced the air.

“Holy!” Jon flinched, whipping his head around. “Where… what the hell was that about? I… what was _what_ about?”

Jon shook his head and looked up. “Casey? That wasn’t you, right? You better not have died.”

The camera started to spin, still focus on Jon, and his movements became very rapid, signalling a passage of time. When it slowed, his fidgets returned to a normal pace. He was looking around nervously, although it didn’t look like he knew why. It was evident he had no memory of the Purple Man appearing before him.

“I swear, if you guys are dead,” Jon grumbled.

“Not dead!” Casey’s head popped over the side of the hole, and she smiled down at him.

“The scream? Were you guys attacked?”

“No, we’re fine.”

“Did you find any vines?” Jon asked, the relief evident in his voice. “I really don’t like it down here.”

“We found something better.” Casey’s head disappeared, followed by a voice Jon barely knew, but the viewers recognized all too well.

“Is it the pincers?” Rux called.

Jon frowned. “Why would blondie-”

“ _Rusty_ blonde,” Rux corrected.

“-be better?”

“Because it’s not just blondie.” Sam stepped up to the edge of the hole, followed by Danny.

“Fenton! When I get out of here, you’re telling us what the hell is going on!” Jon demanded.

“Hey, when you get out there, it’ll be _because_ of Danny,” Sam snapped. Danny just gave Jon a weak smiled before backing out of view.

“And how does he plan on doing that?”

“Human chain?” Casey suggested off screen.

There was no verbal reply, but everyone assumed Danny just nodded.

“Jon, get out of the way,” Sam instructed. Since the Goth girl wasn’t one to be disobeyed, Jon quickly did as told. He hobbled upright and pressed himself against the wall. A second later, a shadow blocked the opening, and with a whoosh and a thud, Danny Fenton landed crouching beside him.

Jon gaped at him, looking up, then back down again.

“Fenton, do you know how far that was?”

Danny shrugged and, still crouched, turned his back towards Jon.

“You can’t be serious,” Jon deadpanned, and Danny winced.

“Just, get on,” he reluctantly spoke. Jon hesitated, probably not trusting Danny’s strength, but listened anyways. He awkwardly wrapped his arms around Danny’s neck, but was too proud to wrap his good leg about the other boy’s waist. It was obvious Danny didn’t mind.

Fenton started climbing immediately, much faster than Casey and Dylan did. He looked confident of his holds, scaling the wall with ease, and soon enough was pulling himself out of the top. Jon pushed away from Danny the first chance he got, hopping towards a tree and leaning against it. In the full light, his leg and injury could be seen clearly. There were no protruding bones or strange bends, but there was a gash along his calf.

“Is that all?” Sam asked.

“It’s sprained,” Danny answered before the boy who was actually injured could.

“How do you know?” Jon raised an eyebrow skeptically.

“Ghosts, anatomy, science stuff,” Danny explained lamely. His eyes were darting between the small gathering. Six people surrounding him. He quickly backed out of the circle, and Sam gave him a pitying look while she attended to Jon’s injury.

“I’m going to use your pant legs to bind it,” she informed him seconds before ripping his jeans.

“Oh, sure. Thanks for asking,” Jon grumbled, but didn’t protest further. It would be a little stupid to.

“Nice cut offs.” Casey giggled, and Jon grimaced at his torn jeans.

Sam finished wrapped his leg and stepped back. “All the first aid supplies are at the plane. I can’t believe we didn’t take backpacks. What the hell, Danny?”

“Uh, sorry.” Danny grinned sheepishly.

“Fenton men,” Sam scoffed, but she was smiling to.

“Actually, Fenton, I decided I hate you,” Jon said. “You know stuff, and you’re not telling anyone.”

“When everyone’s together, we’ll tell you guys everything.”

“Sam.” Danny touched her shoulder briefly, then looked at Jon. “You can hate me, fine. But I have my reasons for not telling you guys, not yet. _But I will_.”

“Everything?” Jon asked. He didn’t sound satisfied, but his mood had taken an odd turn at Danny’s words.

“Everything, I mean it.”

“Danny!” Sam hissed, sounding like a warning.

“They’re gonna find out. I already decided to tell everyone.”

Only Sam looked like she understood

“What now?” Dylan asked.

“Back to the plane?” Casey suggested.

Danny glanced upwards, towards the camera. “Back to the plane.”

…

The screen briefly cut to the beach. Marie, Mikey, and Andy were sitting under the m the makeshift lean-to Will and Rux had hobbled together, her leg propped up on a presumably empty bag, and Valerie was sprawled out beside them.

“I can’t take it, I’m gonna snap,” Andy muttered, twitching his foot in Paulina’s direction.

“Valerie beat you to it,” Mikey said, refusing to look at the Latina, who was leaning against the body of the plane, running her fingers through her hair.

“Sorry, not sorry.” Valerie shrugged.

“Aw, man. It’s probably for the best, anyways. I’m so hungry, I don’t have the energy to yell.” Andy groaned. Marie nodded in agreement. For not having any food, the teens didn’t look particularly starved or parched, but that was probably for the best.

“That’s one of us.” Mikey pointed to Leo, who was standing at the edge of the beach, dancing away from the approaching waves. She was shrieking with laughter while her mother watched, just out of the water’s reach.

“It’s good that she’s happy,” Marie said quietly. She drew her knees to her chest and lowered her chin. “Growing up sucks.”

Andy hummed in agreement. “It sure does.”

The others nodded slowly and flopped back to lie in the sand.

“Innocent until proven ghostly,” Valerie muttered.

“And never again,” Marie finished quietly.

Only those watching from Amity Park understood what the girls meant. No one knew who said it first, but it applied to people that could be overshadowed. When more people started coming in contact with possessed individuals, panic spread, no one knew who to trust. This phrase embodied the attitude many people in Amity Park had to take towards potentially overshadowed people, and now applied to anyone whose lives were influenced by ghosts.

Innocent until proven ghostly, and never again.

Once the ghosts get you, there’s no going back.

…

“It’s the plane!” Tucker and Kwan cheered. They were running along the beach, and looked a little better than before. Their damp shirt fronts hinted at them having found a source of water at some point. The sun, which had been steadily moving across the sky throughout the video, was nearing the horizon. Grayson was jogging a ways behind the boys, and quickly catching up, while Star was rolling her eyes and walking normally towards the aircraft that could be seen down the stretch of sand. It was amazing, how quickly they seemed to get back to the plane.

Tucker and Kwan whooped and high-fived, slowing only when they reached the piles of suitcases and bags. No one else was in sight.

“Paulina?” Kwan called.

“Val? Mikey?” Tucker shouted, cupping his hands around his mouth. “Danny worshipping kid?”

“Leo, I think,” Kwan whispered.

“Right.” Tucker nodded in thanks. “Leo!”

They started walking towards the plane as Grayson caught up with them.

“Where is everyone?” The older man asked, looking around. As he did, a small head popped into one of the plane windows with dark hair. It didn’t stay long enough for them to see her clearly, but it was obviously Leo.

“They’re back, they’re back!” The girl cheered. “Is Danny here?”

“Took you long enough,” Paulina’s accented voice drawled. The camera jumped to the doorway, but only showed a pair of feet as Valerie showed herself first.

“Where’s everyone else?” Her good foot tapped against the frame.

“Everyone was separated,” Kwan answered.

“Oh no! I hope they aren’t missing, like Dash,” Paulina whined. A small body pushed past Valerie’s legs as Leo jumped from the plane. The camera followed her, but remained on her back.

“Where’s Danny?”

“He’s not with us. He’s finding everyone else,” Tucker said with an apologetic smile.

“Oh, okay.” Leo’s shoulders slumped.

Star, who had finally caught up, crossed her arms and looked at Leo with confusion. “Something seems off.”

“Like what?” The little girl asked innocently. The camera started to move upwards and around, to face Leo’s front.

“I don’t know.”

The views could no longer see Star’s scowl but they could hear it.

“That means nothing’s wrong!” The camera stopped as it reached Leo’s chin.

“Yep.” Leo chirped, nodding, and the camera backed away, giving the viewers a full view of her front. She tilted her head, an empty face turned up towards the older Survivalists.

“There’s nothing wrong.”


	22. Faceless Little Girls

_Welcome to **Amity** **117** chat forum_

**_KingArthur_ has logged in**

**_LordOfMud_ has logged in**

**_Mud-of-Solitude_ has logged in**

**_Mud-of-Solitude:_** What the frick frack was that?

 ** _LordOfMud:_** LEO’Z POZZESSED!

 ** _KingArthur:_** I don’t think she’s possessed.

 ** _LordOfMud:_** Her face iz gone!

 ** _Mud-of-Solitude:_** She has no face! That’s pretty flippin’ ghostly!

**_Fantomo_ has logged in**

**_Fantomo:_** If you knew ghosts, you’d know

 ** _LordOfMud:_** How??? O.O

 ** _KingArthur:_** Possessed people still have faces

 ** _Fantomo:_** Ghosts can’t change people like that

 ** _KingArthur:_** The eyes are important. If someone is possessed, they look different

 ** _Fantomo:_** And we call it overshadowing

 ** _KingArthur:_** Yeah

 ** _Fantomo:_** Yeah

 ** _LordOfMud:_** Sooo… then…. Wat’z going on?

 ** _Mud-of-Solitude:_** Ghosts

 ** _Fantomo:_** Yep, ghosts

 ** _KingArthur:_** The king says it’s ghosts

 ** _LordOfMud:_** I know it’z ghostz! But _what?_

 ** _Fantomo:_** Obviously we don’t know

 ** _KingArthur:_** But this is a place for sharing ideas! So, any theories anyone?

**_BoyWes_ has logged in**

**_BoyWes:_** Maybe one of the ghosts can control minds? Or it could be some kind of body splitter thing?

 ** _LordOfMud:_** Hey! Crazy Boy, welcome back!

 ** _BoyWes:_** I’m not CRAZY! You can’t call me crazy anymore!

 ** _Fantomo:_** I don’t know. I know crazy, and you’re a little… @.@

 ** _BoyWes:_** I. Am not. Crazy.

 ** _LordOfMud:_** Sure, Crazy Boy. Maybe _ur_ Danny Phantom, and ur tryin to hide behind Fenton.

 ** _LordOfMud:_** No one tell Danny I said that. He’z awesome and hawt

 ** _Fantomo:_** Ew, that’s my cousin you’re talking about

 ** _BoyWes:_** I’m not Phantom! Do you know how much work I put into those charts?! I wouldn’t do that for some stupid secret identity. I’d let everyone know!

 ** _KingArthur:_** There is no fighting in the kingdom of Camelot! Except for jousts, and duels, and things like that. **_BoyWes_** is not crazy, we do not think he’s Danny Phantom, and he had some interesting theories about what’s going on with Tucker’s group. You said body splitting?

 ** _BoyWes:_** _Thank you._ When Sam was talking to those university people, they were talking about swarm ghosts and stuff like that. One type of swarm class was body splitting. They can shape shift into multiple bodies, right? What if those bodies could have different forms?

**_NoIsY_ has logged in**

**_Mud-of-Solitude:_** That sort of makes sense. But the ghost is still technically one ghost when that happens, right?

 ** _KingArthur:_** That’s what it sounded like. A form with multiple bodies, that’s what she said. So one mind. There’s still a lot of variables, too. Do the multiple bodies have to be identical? How varied can their actions be? If a single mind is controlling all of that, how much complexity does each body get?

 ** _NoIsY:_** Hold Up!

 ** _LordOfMud:_** Hey fallout.

 ** _NoIsY:_** Leo Had No Face, And Now You’re Thinking Of Body Splitters? Where Did That Come From?

 ** _LordOfMud:_** Crazy Boy

 ** _NoIsY:_** ?

 ** _LordOfMud:_** Wes Weston over there. You didn’t see the interview?

 ** _BoyWes:_** For the last time, I’m not crazy. And if something is up with Leo, then something is probably up with everyone else at the plane. How can you _not_ notice a faceless girl?

 ** _NoIsY:_** But We Saw The Plane Just Before Tucker’s Group. Leo Looked Normal. How Could They Have Been Replaced So Fast, And Where Would They Have Gone?

 ** _BoyWes:_** That was my original. Some mind control thing? Foley and the others got to the plane way to fast. It doesn’t make sense. I think it’s fake.

 ** _KingArthur:_** Danny and the rest are near that side of the island. If it is a fake, and they loop around the beach like Tucker did, then they could find them.

 ** _BoyWes:_** Yeah, something like that

 ** _NoIsY:_** So Everything Will Be Fine Anyways.

 ** _LordOfMud:_** There’z that optimizm we loooove so much

 ** _Mud-of-Solitude:_** I think we’re forgetting something pretty dang important

 ** _Fantomo:_** What?

 ** _Mud-of-Solitude:_** The rest of the class. There’s a few people missing, right? And Danny didn’t bury them, so where are they?

 ** _Fantomo:_** Danny’s mentioned it a few times, he’s going to find them.

 ** _Mud-of-Solitude:_** Right, he’ll try. But everyone else seems to have completely forgotten about them. Wasn’t that Paulina chick wailing about some dude in the first video? None of it makes sense, they are all waaaay to calm for this situation. If it were me, I’d be flipping out.

 ** _KingArthur:_** We don’t actually know how involved the ghosts responsible are

 ** _Fantomo:_** They could be a manipulation type

 ** _LordOfMud:_** What’z that?

 ** _Fantomo:_** It’s another power class, like swarm. My cousin told me all about this stuff. Manipulation type ghosts can influence thoughts and feelings. Telekinesis is manipulation too, but it’s really low level, since objects don’t have feelings and are easy to manipulate

 ** _KingArthur:_** Would possession by part of manipulation?

 ** _Fantomo:_** Sort of? I’m not sure what Danny classifies it as, because the ghost is taking control of the body, not manipulating it, although it can leave some kind of effect.

 ** _KingArthur:_** He should write a book on this stuff

 ** _Fantomo:_** Even better, he’s got video logs

 ** _LordOfMud:_** That iz awesome! But hey, I thought of something. Two thingz. First, Danny’z chest wound, what iz up with that? It iz bleeding, but it’z not, and nothing is healing. Second, there’z a ghost girl too, right? She’z in Amity right now with Phantom gone. If Danny is Phantom, then who is the chick?

**_Fantomo_ had logged out**

**_LordOfMud:_** Someone pleeez tell me that’z our answer?

 ** _Mud-of-Solitude:_** I’m more interested in the injury right now. It’s so messed up.

 ** _BoyWes:_** How does anyone have doubts about him being Phantom still? I think the whole injury thing makes it pretty obvious. He’s burned to the _bone_ in some places, and he’s walking around all fine like it’s nothing? And nothing is healing, he saw he can’t starve or whatever. Seriously, this all screams ghost powers

 ** _Mud-of-Solitude:_** But what kind of ghost powers?

 ** _LordOfMud:_** Maybe it’z related to that thing the Goth chick was screaming about in the beginning

 ** _KingArthur:_** That she told Danny to turn on?

 ** _LordOfMud:_** Yeah! I want to know about that too!

**_CirqueDuPineapple_ has logged in**

**_CirqueDuPineapple:_** The new Ghost Watch interview is airing soon!

**_CirqueDuPineapple_ has logged out**

**_NoIsY:_** See You

**_NoIsY_ has logged out**

**_LordOfMud:_** Doez that guy only exist to tell us when stuff is on?

 ** _Mud-of-Solitude:_** Makes things easier for me

**_Mud-of-Solitude_ has logged out**

**_LordOfMud_ has logged out**

**_BoyWes:_** Hold up, Arthur, you seem to know a bit about ghost stuff

 ** _KingArthur:_** A bit

**_YourFather_ has logged in**

**_BoyWes:_** In the past year, the numbers on my charts about Fenton’s disappearance and Phantom’s appearance correlation has dipped a bit. If Phantom is a swarm class that could mess with it right?

 ** _KingArthur:_** Definitely

**_KingArthur_ has logged out**

**_BoyWes:_** Shit! I know Fenton had tricks up his sleeve!

 ** _YourFather:_** The force is strong with that one!

 ** _BoyWes:_** …

**_BoyWes_ has logged out**

**_YourFather:_** He gets it

**_YourFather_ has logged out**


	23. Confirmed?

Tiffany snow sat primly on her plush seat, smiling into the camera. She wore her usual purple blazer and skirt ensemble, only there was a small patch on her lapel, featuring a toxic green ghost over a black background, with pair of dark eyes looming above it. The same logo could be seen on the large screen on the wall behind her.

“Good afternoon, Amity Park, my name is Tiffany Snow, and this is Ghost Watch. It’s been 18 days since flight 117 disappeared under mysterious, ghostly circumstances. A lot has been revealed to us in the videos detailing the Survivalists’ struggle up to four days after the crash, and already there are resounding effects.”

A picture of a large orange brick building appeared on the screen behind Tiffany.

“The International School of Minnesota, a prominent private school, is under scrutiny for its anti-bullying policy after the revelation that one Adrian Sanchez committed suicide in his dorm as the result of bullying.”

The image changed to a generic office tower, with the word “Acerodon” on top.

“Rick Grayson, one of the Survivalist’s, is being accused of nepotism by Acerodon board members after he confirmed in video that his business partner was actually his illegitimate son.” The serious tone was offset by Tiffany’s wide smile. “But the biggest revelation, or speculation, so far is the ghost boy!”

The Acerodon tower was replaced by side-by-side pictured of Danny Fenton and Danny Phantom. “The world remains divided on whether the ghost boy could actually be human, and if he may truly be the quiet boy from Amity Park, Danny Fenton. Joining me once again are Maddie and Jack Fenton, Danny’s parents, as well as the Mayor Vlad Masters, and our mysterious two-time caller ‘Artie’. Later we will be joined by a mystery guest.”

Tiffany shifted, looking to her right, and the camera panned to the side to reveal her guests. Or the three that could be seen, at least.

“Maddie and Jack, what do you think about the speculation that your son may be Danny Phantom?” Tiffany asked.

“Impossible! We’d notice if something was up with Danny,” Jack answered immediately.

Maddie, however, looked a little more hesitant.

“What about all the evidence we’ve seen in the videos so far? The last time you were here, you expressed a theory that Danny was unable to properly feel pain, so he wasn’t treating his wounds. But he has now taken an ectoblast full-on, and it can be agreed his injury is not normal.”

“That’s easy, it’s the ectoplasm in the attack messing with Danny’s system. Ghosts have all kinds of different powers that could have many different effects,” Jack said.

“ _What about the ability to stop healing_?” Artie’s voice echoed from unseen speakers. “ _Come on, big guy. You said ghosts have all kinds of powers._ ”

Maddie frowned. “It’s a possible theory, but it isn’t an advantageous power. A ghost’s ability is like a survival tactic. It provides benefits to their being. Not healing isn’t a benefit.”

“ _But not feeling pain_ is _,_ ” Artie added. “ _Danny has already said he can’t starve, and Sam said he could bleed out, starve, or die from dehydration if he stopped whatever it was he’s doing. That sounds pretty ghostly to me. What about you, Masters?_ ”

“As much as it pains me to say it, the evidence is overwhelming,” Vlad said, not sounding particularly pained. “In the videos Daniel has expressed inhuman characteristics and far superior levels of sensory functioning.”

“There is something I’m curious about,” Tiffany said. “That ring, the weapon Danny has. Why haven’t you manufactured anything like it for widespread use? It could certainly be more functional for personal protection than a gun or a simple Specter Deflector.”

“That’s because it isn’t a weapon,” Maddie said.

“What?”

“It’s my college class ring!” Jack boasted. “I gave it to Danny to give to that girlfriend of his.”

“Remember, honey, they aren’t actually dating,” Maddie reminded her husband.

“Really? I even got it engraved.”

“So it’s just an ordinary ring?” Tiffany asked.

“ _And Danny said it manipulated ectoplasmic energy. Does this not_ scream _ghost to anyone else?_ ” Artie asked.

“Before we jump to conclusions, I think it’s important to discuss the main concept. _Can_ a human be a ghost without being dead?” Vlad said. “In all my research, I’ve never heard of anything like it.”

“Neither have I, V-Man!” Jack gave Vlad a boisterous thumbs up, to which the millionaire mayor groaned and gave a half-hearted gesture in return.

“But it’s not impossible.” Maddie’s voice was quick, but the small microphone pinned to her jumpsuit easily picked up her words.

“Please, elaborate,” Tiffany said, urging her on.

“Ghosts are protoplasmic beings, their emotions sourced from deceased humans. Less humanoid ghosts are the product of excess energy and post-human consciousness binding together to make a solid form. But it’s impossible to make something from nothing, meaning the ectoplasm has to come from somewhere,” Maddie continued. “It can’t be found naturally in nature, outside the Ghost Zone at least, but Jack and I have been working on finding a source energy within the human body to explain where the ectoplasm originates.”

“So, in theory, it could be possible.”

Maddie bit her lip and nodded slowly. “In theory, yes.”

“But Danny’s not a ghost,” Jack insisted.

“ _What made you start this line of research?_ ” Artie asked.

Maddie looked hesitant, but she explained anyways. “Because all of our ghost detecting equipment is activated when Danny is near.”

A stunned silence fell, with Tiffany openly gaping at the two ghost hunters. Though Vlad only let out a silent sigh, shaking his head slightly.

Tiffany looked to the camera. “I’m not sure what I thought before, but I’m almost convinced. Danny Fenton may actually be Danny Phantom! Before we continue with the show, we have a segment from our weatherman, Lance Thunder, who has been working the investigative angle on the military’s search for the Survivalists.”

…

“This is Lancer Thunder, reporting just outside the Guys In White central base on the outskirts of Amity Park!” Lance was shouting into the microphone to be heard over the roaring wind. “For eighteen days the military has been tirelessly searching for the Survivalists, using all available resources, or so we’ve been lead to believe.”

Lance started walking towards the building, occasionally glancing into the camera as he continued speaking.

“All military efforts have proven fruitless despite the frequent broadcasts. Hackers around the world are unable to trace the videos to their source, and any black box signal, supposedly activated by Danny Fenton in one of the early videos, has not been found. Many people have viewed this situation as a lost cause, and chosen to sit back and accept that these videos are the last we’ll ever see of the Survivalists.”

Lance stopped, planting his feet, and faced the camera head on. “But not this weatherman! When it was revealed that ghosts were involved, the military withdrew from their efforts and the Guys In White supposedly made finding the island and its inhabitants a top priority. I’m here today to find out the truth.”

Lance walked up to the front gate while his cameraman hung back. The microphone on his hands picked up enough sound that a perfect visual wasn’t needed.

“Hello, Lance Thunder,” Lance said to a bald man in a white suit manning the security booth.

“This is restricted property.”

“I’m here inquiring about the Guys In White’s efforts to find the Survivalists.”

“That information is classified.”

“The operations, maybe. But don’t the GIW have a statement for the public?”

“That information is classified.”

Lance glanced back at the camera, one eyebrow raised, and looked back at the GIW. “A public statement is classified?”

“The Guys In White will not be giving public statements at this time.”

“Does that mean you have made no progress? Can you at least tell me that much.”

“ _Everything_ is classified. If you don’t leave the premises, we will have you removed.”

“What about your involvement with the Ghost War last year?”

“We have a public figure breach in sector G1, this is Agent L requesting an expulsion team.”

“Hey, you can’t just deny everything and expect the people to be satisfied. We want answers. We _know_ those kids. Sanchez, De Souza. Hell, even Fenton. He could be the town hero!”

“Danny Phantom is a level eight entity, labeled a public threat. He will be captured and dealt with accordingly.”

The gate behind Lance started to open and three burly agents stepped through. Two of them grabbed Lance while the third ran towards the cameraman.

The cameraman started to run, Lance’s loud protests serving as a backdrop. The camera suddenly lurched forward, clattering to the ground, and landed so the picture was on its side. It revealed the person who had been holding the camera to be Wes Weston. His face was pressed into the pavement, the agent that had chased him kneeling on his back, handcuffing him.

The agent pulled a small ecto-pistol from inside his suit, and the screen went black after a bright green flash.

…

“Is anyone still in contact with Lance?” The screen once again showed the inside of the Ghost Watch studio. But Tiffany wasn’t paying attention to the cameras. She was standing near the edge of the screen, speaking to someone backstage. “Well, get them on the phone, damn it!”

Someone cleared their throat, and Tiffany spun around. She blushed heavily and smoothed out her clothes. “Lance appears to be having some ‘technical difficulties,” Tiffany spat. “While that is sorted out, welcome back. The Fentons have left the building, and in their place we have our mystery guest. Technus, the ghost of technology!”

“Hello!” A ghost wearing a trench coat phased through the floor. His skin was bright green, and a pair of sleek glasses were perched on his nose. He _almost_ would have been cool, if it weren’t for the long mullet falling over his shoulders. Technus drifted over to the couch and hovered above the empty seat next to Vlad.

Mayor Masters did not appear to be uncomfortable so close to a ghost.

“Artie, after your last call, we decided to follow your advice and speak to a ghost directly,” Tiffany said.

“ _This isn’t exactly what I had in mind, but it’s cool_ ,” Artie said. “ _Technus, right?_ ”

“Yes! I am the hip and cool Technus 2.0, Master of all Technology!” Technus shouted, then his voice dropped comically to a normal level. “Nice to meet you.”

“For those of you unfamiliar with the ghosts of Amity Park, Technus is a frequent adversary of Danny Phantom, but has been given temporary immunity here on Ghost Watch in order to tell us what’s happening on the other side,” Tiffany said. She glanced at the ghost, her shoulders tense. “As a representative of the Ghost Zone, what do you have to say about the Survivalists?”

“It’s terrible! Sure, some of us enjoy a little mayhem now and then, but there are very few willing to do something like this!” Technus said, his voice once again rising in volume. “The ghost boy has numerous enemies, but none that would, or could, do something like this!”

“The ghost boy, so you don’t deny Danny Phantom was on that plane?” Tiffany asked.

“What, you don’t know?” Technus asked. “Oh, that’s right! You _don’t_. And I thought he’d be a good teacher! He doesn’t even know how secret identities work!”

“Excuse me?”

“Danny Phantom? Everyone in the Ghost Zone knows who he is,” Technus said. “Plasmius, too.”

Vlad suddenly jerked, and he whipped his head around to glare at Technus.

“Plasmius?” Tiffany prodded.

“Oh, yeah. And the girl, if you want to add her. It’s no secret who the halfa’s really are. The only ones that don’t know are you guys!” Technus was grinning, obviously enjoying his knowledge.

“You said halfa. What exactly is that?”

“Exactly what it sound like. Half a human, halfa ghost,” Technus said, his grin stretching even wider. “I can even tell you who they are! Danny Phantom is-”

Technus suddenly paused, his mouth flapping in a fantastic imitation of a fish, before it closed. He drifted down closer to the couch, his demeanor visibly subdued. Only a few people noticed the sudden appearance of a blue lanyard around his neck, adorned with a golden cog.

“Danny Phantom is a hero, curse him, my enemy!” Technus stated weakly. He looked around briefly, then disappeared from view.

“Wait!” Tiffany said, jumping up from her seat.

Vlad reached over and probed the area Technus had been floating in. “I’m afraid he’s gone, and with it his immunity. I’m sure he’ll be caught by our ghostly protectors within the hour.”

The mayor stood up without saying anything else and walked off the stage. Tiffany stared at her empty couch, confusion etched onto her face.

“ _Does this mean the interview is done_?” Artie, still on the line, asked.

“I, uh, yes,” Tiffany said, nodding slowly. She faced the camera. “Thank you for watching Ghost Watch, your number one source for ghost TV.”


	24. Truth Will Out

One day after the Ghost Watch interview, the ninth video dominated the internet. The world at large had already been forced to change once when ghosts were finally accepted as real, and it was about to change again.

The video started with a boy. His skin was pale and his blond hair was tinted green. Slowly, the camera pulled back to reveal the rest of him. Muscular, wearing canvas shorts and a tank top. The blond jock from the first video.

The green tint came from the thick substance he was suspended in. Locked inside a glass tube with a metal base and cap, he was unmoving and unknowing. The camera moved further back, revealing identical tubes on either side of him, both of them occupied.

A humming sound drifted through the air, and camera pulled back even further to show a second row of tubes before panning around. They weren’t rows, they were rings. Circling the edges of a wide cavern and illuminated by bobbing orbs of ectoplasm. Only around half the tubes were occupied.

At the very centre of the cave was a small shadow. The orbs of light didn’t drift close enough to provide illumination as the camera moved forwards, but a shape was still visible. It looked a person, a child. The camera panned around to reveal Leo, sitting cross legged in the middle of the cavern. There was a tiny orb of ectoplasm in her hands that she was poking and prodding. The light it provided did not go beyond her lap.

Leo’s palms and fingertips were burnt from toying with the hot energy, but she didn’t stop or cry out in pain. Her eyes were half lidded and glazed over, and the song she hummed had no discernible melody.

The Purple Man appeared over her shoulder, his wide grin splitting his face in half. He leaned against Leo’s head, making it bob, but otherwise she didn’t seem to notice the ghost’s presence. The Purple Man brought a finger to his lips and made a shushing noise. Leo mimicked it softly before cupping her hands around the orb, and snuffing it out with her palms.

…

Danny’s group was walking through the trees. The sunlight pooled on the forest floor wherever there was a break in the leaves. Jon, Casey, and Dylan looked more refreshed compared to the previous video while the others—minus Danny—appeared more ragged. All in all, they were now in similar states of exhaustion and dishevelment.

“Do they teach you how to use guns?” Rux asked. She was walking just behind Danny and Sam, who lead the group, with Will beside her. Jon was leaning on Dylan for support at the back of the group, and Casey hovered close by.

“Not the guns, but we were taught how to use nonlethal equipment,” Sam answered. “Do you always make references to stuff?”

Rux scoffed. “Does Dionysus drink Diet Coke?”

“Is that your answer, or the next question?” Sam asked.

“Um… yes,” Rux answered unhelpfully.

“I think you’re almost at twenty,” Will said, tapping a finger against his palm.

“Enough with the questions!” Jon shouted from the back of the group, his voice tight and angry. “Can’t any of you take this seriously? We could _die_ here!”

Rux’s mouth snapped shut and a dark expression overtook her face. The corners of her mouth quirked downwards, the tilt of her head casting shadows over her eyes.  It passed when Will nudged her.

Danny actually winced, faltering on his next step. Sam put a hand on his shoulder, looking at him with concern.

“Has it ever been off this long before?” she whispered.

Danny shook his head, his long bangs swishing back and forth in front of his eyes. “No, but I don’t think that’s the problem. Everything is too,” he paused as he searched for the right word, “loud.”

“Shouldn’t it be quiet when it’s off?”

Danny shook his head again. “I thought so, but I’ve never done it around so many people. It’s not really a voluntary power anyways. I think I’m trying to gather energy, but I can’t right now, so it’s just a wall of noise building up inside my head.”

Sam grimaced. “We need to get off this island soon. And when we do, the first place you’re going is a hospital. No stopping to check on Danielle, no spying on Vlad to see if he’s still being a good little vampire, and no using Tucker as an excuse not to go.”

“Fine.” Danny chuckled. “No excuses.”

At the back of the group, Jon was looking at everyone with wide, angry eyes. “What is wrong with you people?” He stopped walking, forcing Dylan to stop to keep from crashing into him. The others looked at him in confusion, though Danny’s expression appeared to be more curious than anything.

“We’re stranded, on what’s probably an island, and I doubt anyone knows where we are. People are missing, people are _dead_ , and _no one_ is freaking out about this?”

“Are you?” Danny asked. Based on their expressions, only Jon and Will thought that was an odd question. Their eyebrows were raised, a sort of “ _are you kidding me?”_ look in their eyes.

“Obviously!” Jon shouted.

“I mean, we’ve got Danny?” Casey said, and Dylan nodded with her.

“The kid knows what’s up,” Rux agreed.

Jon threw up his arms in frustration. “And that doesn’t strike anyone as strange? The losers are taking charge, and their loser king ‘knows what’s up’ when we crashed in the middle of who knows where?” He took a moment to look each member of their little group in the eye.

Casey bit her lip, but looked otherwise unconcerned. Dylan just shrugged, while Rux hummed. Sam looked impassive at Jon’s outburst, while Danny had winced again. For a brief moment, it looked like his eyes flashed a poisonous green in the light.

Will nodded slowly, looking from Jon to Danny, and lightly tracing letters onto the back of his hand. He was the only one who seemed to agree.

“Jon,” Danny said in that soft, commanding tone, capturing everyone’s attention,. “This isn’t a place for secrets. Trust me, I _will_ tell you what I know. But for now can you _please_ just be a little quieter?”

For a moment it didn’t look like Jon was going to listen. His eyebrows were drawn together, mouth opening as if he was about to say something before his whole body faltered. He jerked, blinking halfway, mouth snapping shut as he gave a sharp nod.

“Thanks,” Danny said with a smile, and the group continued walking.

…

“You didn’t find any food, did you?” Kay asked, a forlorn expression on her face. She was holding the faceless Leo, seemingly oblivious to the fact that the thing in her arms wasn’t actually her daughter.

Tucker shook his head. “It’s like we said yesterday. We found a source of water, but nothing edible. When the others come back, we can probably move our camp there.”

“How do you know they’re coming?” Kay asked with a frown.

“Um, I can’t really explain it,” Tucker answered, rubbing the back of his neck. “But they’re probably on their way.”

Kay gave him a skeptical look, shifting the faceless Leo in her arms. Leo pulled her head away from Kay’s shoulder and turned towards Tucker.

“Danny’s going to keep them safe! He’s a superhero.” It was disturbing, hearing the voice echo from a mouthless face. There were vague indents where her mouth and eyes should have been, and a small bump in place of her nose. Overall, it looked like she was unfinished doll in need of some final molding and a coat of paint. Her chin didn’t move as she ‘spoke,’ and it was impossible to tell where she was looking.

“More than you know.” Tucker chuckled.

The camera drifted over Tucker’s shoulder to focus on Paulina. Star was sitting across from her, a small suitcase between them filled with makeup and other beauty products that had been on the plane. There was very little that had been salvaged

Paulina scoffed. “Fenton, a hero? Yeah, right.”

Many people expected Star to immediately support Paulina’s disdain. They hadn’t actually seen much of the two girls together, but Star’s role in their friendship was very clear. It came as a surprise when Star visibly hesitated. “Tucker led our group back,” she said.

Paulina blinked in surprise, mouth tightening into a scowl, “You walked along the beach, and he stood at the front, that’s hardly leading.”

“Remember when that pirate ghost took our parents? Fenton took charge then,” Star argued, looking down at her hands.

“And fell off the boat halfway through the fight.” Paulina rolled her eyes. She picked through the bag of makeup and pulled out a small compact of blush. Grimacing at the colour inside, she tossed it into the sand behind her. “The ghost boy had to save him and he disappeared for the rest of it.”

Star shrugged. “I just think we shouldn’t brush them off so quickly. What has anyone else done to try and get _anything_ done?”

“Hmph. If they would just _let_ someone-”

“ _Let_ someone? You are Paulina Sanchez, you don’t wait for things, you take them,” Star said.

Paulina paused, hand halfway into the bag. Her fingers curled into a fist, and she lowered it to her knee. “I want to go home, I can’t ‘take’ that.”

“Not alone, obviously. But there’s, like, seventeen other people here.” Star rolled her eyes and smirked, and Paulina returned the gesture with a grateful smile. The exchange cast the two prissy A-listers in a new light. Most people watching still despised the girls, but Star had proven herself to be tolerable as she journeyed with Tucker, Grayson, and Kwan, and Paulina’s recent revelations had made her a slightly less despised character.

“Ooh, what’s this one?” Paulina pulled out a silver  tube, pulling off the cap to reveal bright green lipstick. “It looks funny.”

Her thumb drifted over a bump on the outside of the tube, and a beam of energy shot from the lipstick. Paulina shrieked and dropped it.

“Whoa, careful with that,” Tucker said. He walked over to the girls and picked up the lipstick. “Dangerous ghost weaponry should be handled by the experts.”

“ _That’s_ a ghost hunting weapon?” Paulina asked doubtfully.

“The Fenton Lipstick Blaster,” Tucker answered. He capped the lipstick and shoved it in his pocket. “My go to on-the-go anti-ghost gun.”

“It’s not really a gun,” Star pointed out. “It’s lipstick with lasers.”

“But it’s _deadly_ ,” Tucker said with a grin.

“Wait, wait, _wait_. You have _weapons_?” Andy asked. He hadn’t been present in any of the earlier shots, but judging by his wet jeans, and the similar state of Grayson’s dress pants and Kwan’s jeans, all three of them had been trying their hand at spearfishing with nothing to show for it.

“Whoops.” Tucker shrugged. “Yeah, I do. If I knew where he kept them, or what they looked like, I’d say Danny does too. But these are the Fenton’s we’re talking about. I wouldn’t be surprised if a cookie was somehow a gun.”

“I’m sorry, what?” Andy asked. “Did you say cookie guns?”

“Well, not cookies, since Danny’s dad would probably eat them on accident. But the Fentons are obsessed with making compact weapons. Their jumpsuits are completely weaponized, and they’re working on making those weapons functional without the built in control system,” Tucker explained. “Danny likes to borrow the prototypes.

Andy blinked. “Do I even want to know why?”

Tucker chuckled. “No, you don’t.”

“It’s all still here!”

The camera swivelled away from Andy and Tucker, focusing on the group emerging from the treeline. Dylan rushed forwards first, leaving Casey to keep Jon upright, and threw himself onto the nearest pile of suitcases.

“Hey, you made it!” Tucker grinned, abandoning his conversation and running towards the group. He threw his arms around Danny and Sam, and frowned when he pulled back, looking at the fresh hole in Danny’s shirt and the bandages wrapped around him. They were made of wide leaves held together by strips taken from his jeans and the sleeves of his t-shirt. The wrappings were still in good condition, which meant they must’ve had an easy walk since they were last shown.

“What happened?” Tucker asked.

Danny opened his mouth to explain, but Sam immediately slapped her hand over it and took over.

“Danny was an idiot— _don’t give me that look_ —and got hurt while we were being attacked. As soon as we get out of this place, our first stop is a hospital.”

Tucker drew back, holding up his hands in a defensive stance. “Alright, send me a card when he’s all better.”

Danny grinned. “You won’t even visit me?”

“Nuh-uh. There’s no way I’m _ever_ setting foot in a hospital again. There aren’t enough supermodels in the world!” Tucker insisted, eyes wide.

“Not even if I gave you a cookie gun to go with that lipstick blaster?”

“Oh, you heard that?” Tucker asked sheepishly.

Danny patted Tucker’s shoulder as he walked by, towards Dylan and the pile of suitcases. He paused when he reached the first bag, glancing over the stack. It was more spread out than before, all of Valerie’s handiwork—which would have been a struggle with her broken leg—scattered across the beach. The video hadn’t shown it, but most people watching assumed Star and Paulina were the reason for the mess.

The other stacks appeared to be untouched.

“Your stuff’s over there.”

Danny glanced at Valerie, who had been sitting nearby but off screen. She was pointing to a smaller pile that couldn’t have had more than four or five bags in it.

“Thanks.” Danny walked over to the pile and grabbed a blue backpack. The word “Fenton” was written on the back in neon green. He reached into the front pouch and pulled out two large packs of playing cards.

“It’s not a cookie, but it works,” Danny said. He threw the packs towards Tucker, but Sam stepped in front of him and snatched them out of the air.

“Hey!” Tucker shouted.

“You’ve got your ‘trusty’ blaster. You don’t need this,” Sam said.

“And what, exactly, is it?” Jon asked. He had slowly been hobbling closer, thanks to help from Casey, and was now level with the Goth and techno-geek.

Rather than answering, Sam opened the pack and tipped the contents into her open palm. Instead of playing cards, it looked like a rectangle of metal. The camera zoomed in for a closer look as Sam started to fiddle with it. She ran her thumb across one of the longer sides, and the metal turned green beneath her fingers. When she drew her hand away there were three sharp clicks and creases appeared all across the surface. The outer plating started to shift, pulling apart and revealing the inner workings.

The clicks continued as the rectangle started to rearrange itself, slowly taking shape until it looking like a standard pistol grip, only silver and green.

“Hold this,” Sam said, shoving the grip into Jon’s hands, and she repeated the process with the second pack. This one took the shape of a barrel. Sam grabbed the grip from Jon and snapped the two pieces together, then glared at Danny. “You couldn’t bring this out _before_ we went searching for food?”

Danny shrugged, but he looked sheepish. “I didn’t think we’d need it?”

Sam rolled her eyes. “You’re an idiot, Danny. Sometimes I can’t even believe I lo-ike you, as a friend. I can’t believe you’re still my friend.” She corrected herself at the last minute, elbowing Tucker who was giving her a suggestive grin.

“Right, yeah,” Danny said, nodding quickly. He looked away, but the camera followed him so his blush was visible. His expression quickly returned to normal when he saw the faceless Leo.

“Danny!” the body double shouted, squirming until Kay set her down. The fake Leo ran towards the young man and grabbed his torn pant leg. “Did you fight bad guys?”

Danny hesitated. “Yeah.”

He frowned when he looked at Leo, and glanced back to Jon, then Will. His eyebrows drew a little closer together each time. But when he looked at the fake Leo, he was smiling.

“We found some bad guys, but I took care of them. I’ll take care of _any_ bad guys, okay?” he said, crouching down so they were eye level.

“Okay!” Leo answered with the same amount of enthusiasm as before, but somehow it sounded empty. “You better promise.”

“I do.”

The exchange, small as it had been, sent shivers down the viewer’s spines. They were relieved that _someone_ had noticed, and few people were surprised it was Danny that did so. The main question now was what would he do about it?

Danny ruffled the fake Leo’s hair and rose out of his crouch, glancing at the others. He winced slightly when he looked at Jon, who was glowering at the gun in Sam’s hands.

“Sam, Tuck.” Danny jerked his head towards the plane. His friends nodded, and the three of them headed off to a quieter location.

“I told you--Fenton always has weapons,” Dylan commented as he sat up. He picked up a bag resting against his knee and started digging through its empty pockets, as if expecting to find more of Danny’s hidden arsenal.

“But why does he have them?” Kay asked. She swept her daughter into her arms and held her tight, looking back in Danny’s direction with a worried expression.

A few people were insulted Kay was mistrusting of Danny. But there were others that understood her perspective, and just hoped everything would be cleared up soon.

“The Fentons are ghost hunters,” Valerie started explaining. “I’m pretty sure everyone here already know that. Is it really that weird their son keeps ghost hunting weapons on him? His parents are famous for their paranoia. Almost as bad as Dylan.”

“I resent that,” Dylan said. “I’m not paranoid, I’m prepared for every situation.”

“Every ridiculous one.” Star rolled her eyes, and Paulina hummed in agreement.

“Whatever keeps the kid alive,” Grayson responded, shrugging slightly. “I’m going to try fishing again.” He turned back to the beach, and Kwan and Andy followed, the jock helping Andy walk.

“Where are the others?” Casey asked, still supporting Jon. “The red-haired boy, and the girl.”

“Mikey and Marie?” Valerie asked, and Casey nodded. “Around. Marie said she was going to wash off down the beach. I think Mikey’s on the plane.”

Casey looked around, bobbing her head as she counted people. “What about your teacher?”

The others looked around as well, as if they only just noticed the overweight man was still missing. It was alarming how casual they appeared.

“Who knows,” Valerie said in a disinterested voice.

…

“What’s up, dude?” Tucker asked when the trio stepped inside the plane.

“Hey, Mikey,” Danny said, ignoring Tucker’s question.

Several rows down a small, red-haired head jerked up in surprise, glasses slipping down his nose at the sudden movement. Mikey quickly pushed them back up, glancing out the window and back at his classmates. “Oh, hi, guys,” he said.

“Whoa, didn’t notice you there,” Tucker said, grinning in jest.

Mikey gave him a weak smile in return. “That’s okay.”

A number of people pitied the scrawny boy. With his lack of presence on screen, more than a handful of viewers had forgotten Mikey was on the island, despite his brother being one of the siblings interviewed on Ghost Watch. It was no surprise they didn’t see Mikey when the video jumped to the trio, but it was now obvious Mikey had been visible the whole time.

“You okay, Mikey?” Danny asked.

Mikey shrugged, picking at the small bandage on his cheek. “We’ve been here five days. I think there’s only one or two bottles of water left, and we don’t have any food. It’s not uncommon for planes that crash at sea to go unfound. I mean, five days. If someone was going to find us, you’d think they would have already.”

Danny walked down the aisle and sat in the seat across from Mikey. He sighed and rubbed the back of his neck, his gaze drifting to a bloodstain on the blue fabric before looking at the redhead beside him. “It’s not really that simple.”

Mikey’s face scrunched in confusion. “How is it not that simple?”

“You’re smart, the best in our class,” Danny said. “Just think of who we are, and how rotten our luck is.”

Mikey barely needed a second. “It’s ghosts. What you said at the bonfire, about knowing what’s going on?”

“Yeah, I’m going to explain. But we need to sort some stuff out first.” Danny nodded towards Sam and Tucker.

Mikey’s eyes widened and he jumped out of his seat, nearly tripping as he stumbled into the aisle. “Oh, right, yeah. I’ll just go. Thanks, Danny.”

It was Danny’s turn to look confused. “For what?”

“I don’t really know.” Mikey chuckled, smile more genuine than before, and left the plane.

Tucker immediately took Mikey’s empty seat while Sam hovered in the aisle. Danny was staring intensely at the bloodstain before him, and the silence felt heavy even to those watching. It was quickly broken by Tucker.

“Dude, I think that’s the most you’ve said in days.”

“How would you know?” Danny shot back. “Besides, Mikey’s quiet. A lot more than you guys. Maybe I should just hang out with him from now on.”

“You couldn’t spend a day away from us if we paid you for it,” Tucker said, leaning back and folding his arms behind his dead.

“Really, Tuck? I’ve spent plenty of days away from you. Not enough, really. What do you think, Sam?” Danny asked, copying Tucker’s pose.

“I think you’re right.” Sam rested her elbow on the seat in front of Danny, propping her chin up on her knuckles. “As soon as we get back to Amity Park, I saw we lose him for a day or two.”

“We could just give him to Klemper for a week.”

The two raven-haired teens grinned at their friend, but their smiles faltered when Tucker grinned right back at them.

“So you guys want to spend a week alone?” He waggled his eyebrows. “Like love-”

“We are _not_ lovebirds!” Sam and Danny shouted in perfect unison, inadvertently supporting Tucker’s theory.“You said it, not me. But really, Danny, what’s up?”

Danny lowered his arms, drumming his fingers against his knee as he stared forwards. He seemed to be considering something. He glanced up towards the camera, looking straight at it as it lazily drifted around the trio, then focused on his friends. “We’ve got a problem. Three, actually. Well, four. Five. Okay, we’ve got _lots_ of problems, but right now we have _three_.”

“And they are?” Sam asked.

“Jon, Will, and Leo.”

“The kid that adores you is a problem? You’re not usually one to shy away from your younger fans,” Tucker said.

Danny rolled his eyes. “Because _they_ don’t chase me. But the problem is that isn’t the real Leo. I can’t really explain it, but she feels off. Like, I want to believe it really is her, but I know it isn’t. Does that make any sense to you guys?”

“Danny, after four years of dealing with your weirdness, of course that makes sense,” Sam said. “And you’re right, that is a problem. Something must have happened while we were gone. It couldn’t have been an accident that we were split up, either.”

“That’s another problem.” Danny nodded. “It’s bad we got separated, and Jon got injured, but nothing bad actually happened during all that. How was your group, Tuck?”

“I mean, we’re all still alive. We didn’t even have trouble getting back once we figured out where to go, it just took a while,” Tucker said.

Sam shook her head. “It doesn’t make sense. Why split us up, and then do nothing with it? We don’t know anything about who we’re facing, beyond them being a body splitter.”

“What did they look like?” Tucker asked.

“They were green, had a spectral tail, three spikes on their heads, and a human torso and arms. But that’s probably not even its real appearance,” Danny said. “I was able to break them down to a liquid state, but the ectoplasm didn’t evaporate, so the ghost probably reassembled itself after we left.”

“If you could do that when your powers are being suppressed, _and_ you’re suspended—off, whatever—the ghost can’t be that strong,” Tucker said.

“It is. We were attacked by six bodies, but there’s way more than that on the island.”

“Wait, really?”

“Yeah. The ghost is watching us. Right now, actually.”

Throughout the conversation, the camera—now identified as a ghost, or maybe it was a ghost holding a camera—had been circling the trio just above their heads. In that moment, it was behind Danny, and he turned around to point in its direction.

“I noticed them the first day we were here. I can’t tell how many there are, since they’re really small and don’t emit that much energy. With my powers out like this, I can’t detect something that weak. But wherever we, _any of us_ , go, they follow,” Danny explained.

“Which means this ghost is powerful enough to maintain tens of bodies at once, while using them for various purposes. That’s a lot of control,” Sam said, looking in the cameras general direction. Her eyes jumped around as she tried to pinpoint its location. She caught it once or twice, but unlike Danny remained unaware of her success.

“So Leo isn’t Leo, our every move is being watched, and… what’s up with Will and Jon?” Tucker asked.

“I’m actually not too sure about them. Sam, you remember Jon’s outburst, right?”

Sam nodded.

“He was right, everyone here _is_ way too calm. Even I’m too calm. Like Mikey said, we’ve been here five days, everyone is hungry, and we’re almost out of water.”

“Actually,” Tucker interrupted, holding up a hand, “we found a stream.”

Sam blinked. “You did?”

“Yeah. I can’t remember how far it is, but it’s along the coast. It wouldn’t be hard to find again,” Tucker said.

“And _why_ didn’t you mention this before?” Sam asked,  voice low and threatening.

“I forgot.” Tucker flinched when Sam leaned closer. “Really, I did! I didn’t even remember it until Danny mentioned we were almost out!”

“Which is also really weird. That’s not just something you’d forget, even you, Tucker,” Danny said.

“Hey, I take offense!”

“So we have no food, as far as everyone else knows, we have no source of water, and I don’t think anyone is optimistic about us getting rescued, but we haven’t had any freakouts. Dylan’s been his usual, paranoid self, but that doesn’t really count. We could see a rescue boat coming towards right now, and he’d find a reason to panic.” Danny shook his head and chuckled. “But that’s not the point. Everyone is pretty calm, but Jon and Will aren’t.”

Sam frowned. “Will seems pretty collected to me.”

“But he doesn’t feel calm. I think he’s just a subdued person on his own, so we might not even know if he were freaking out about something. I think.”

“What do we do?”

“About Jon and Will? I don’t think there’s anything we can do. But Leo didn’t just wander off and go missing, since there’s a replacement here, she must have been taken. If anything, I think she’ll be with the other missing people.”

“So we get more water, then we start a search and rescue?” Tucker suggested.

“It’s not that easy, Tuck,” Sam said. “We’ve got injured people that can’t go traipsing through the forest to find the others. It’s why they didn’t come with us for food in the first place, remember? The weather’s been good since we’ve been here, so I think we should relocate to the water source, make some shelter when we get there. Then we’ll take a small group to find the others.”

“I think that sounds good,” Danny agreed. “But before we do that, we have let them know what’s really going on.”

“I guess that’s a good idea. It would probably be easier if they knew,” Tucker said.

“No, he means _everything_ ,” Sam said. “I’ve already told him I don’t agree, he won’t listen to reason.”

“Dude, are you sure? You’ve managed to keep it secret for four years. At this point, I think you could keep it forever.”

“Literally,” Danny said. He grimaced, his friends mirroring his expression. “But I really don’t think I could. Eventually, I have to get a job, and I want to go to college. Neither of those things mix well with the whole hero thing.”

Completely unaware of the consequences of this statement, hundreds of people watching the video gasped, cheered, or squealed with excitement as they got one step closer to the truth.

“I’ll hold off telling them for now, but as soon as the fighting starts they’ll know. I won’t limit myself to compact weapons when I’m stronger, it would just put everyone at risk,” Danny said.

Sam and Tucker sighed, but they didn’t argue further.

“It’s almost evening, how are we doing this?” Tucker asked.

“I guess we can talk to them now, sleep here, and  head to the stream tomorrow morning.”

Their plan set, Danny and Tucker stood, heading towards the door of the plane. The camera moved ahead of them and focused on the group sitting in the sand. It looked like everyone accounted for was there, including Mikey and Marie. Most people were sitting, but Jon was still leaning on Casey and he was talking animatedly. The camera flew close enough to pick up his words.

“Why are we just waiting around for Danny to tell us what to do next?” Jon hissed none too quietly. “We need food and water, and we need to get out of here!”

“Um, Danny did activate the black box,” Mikey said.

Jon rolled his eyes. “And what good has that done? We’re still here, I don’t see any damn rescue boats.”

“And _you’re_ going to do something to help?” Valerie asked, eyeing Jon’s injured leg. “You’re as much an invalid as me. _Andy_ is more useful than you.”

“Thank you, I think?” Andy said.

“Wow, Val, that’s a pretty big compliment coming from you.”

“Shut it, Foley,” Valerie snapped, glaring at Tucker. He, Sam, and Danny had just joined the group.

Jon focused his attention on Danny, not bothering to hide his hostility. “So, everyone’s here. You going to tell us what’s up?”

“Yes,” Danny said curtly.

Jon blinked several times, gaping like a fish out of water. Obviously he hadn’t expected Danny to hold his promise.

“Okay, fine, great,” the jock spluttered. “So, get to it.”

Jon withered under Sam’s glare, but his gaze remained firmly fixed on Danny as he waited for his explanation

“Our crash wasn’t an accident. Aghost did it,” Danny said, his statement followed by a number of startled gasps.

Kay hugged the faceless Leo closer, while Grayson ground his teeth together, a murderous look in his eyes. But overall, the reaction to the news was less severe than the viewers expected. Anyone that had been trekking through the forest the past couple of days seemed unsurprised. It was almost expected, given the fact that they’d been separated by two giant animal ghosts. But Danny’s other classmates, who hadn’t witnessed the ectoplasmic creatures, looking more resigned than outraged.

“Why does this always happen to the popular people?” Paulina whined.

“Don’t be so dramatic,” Valerie snapped. “It’s happening to _all of us_. Now shut up and let Danny explain.”

Danny smiled gratefully at the injured girl and continued, “A ghost overshadowed the captain at some point, diverted the plane and, well, here we are. Anyone who’s missing and unaccounted for is probably being held by the ghost that did this. Why we weren’t taken…” Danny shrugged. “I’ve got a couple theories, but I’m not one-hundred percent sure of anything”

“How do you know about the captain?” Kwan asked.

“When he made that announcement on the plane, there was an echo in his voice,” Sam answered. She glanced at Danny, who nodded, and continued. “And Casey said the captain wasn’t in the cockpit when she checked. That sounds ghostly enough to me.”

“Shut up, Manson. Danny’s the one who owes us an explanation,” Jon snapped.

Danny’s eyes darkened and he opened his mouth to say something, but Sam interrupted.

“It doesn’t matter who says it. What’s your problem, Marx?”

“My problem is him! This is all probably his fault, he’s the one with ghost hunting parents. If they’re after anyone, it’s going to be him!” Jon shouted.

Oddly enough, the camera wasn’t focusing on him. Jon and Sam were certainly in view, but Danny was the foreground of the shot. Every time Jon shouted, he flinched.

“We don’t know what the ghost is after, it could be a coincidence!” Sam shot back, but it was obvious even she didn’t believe her words.

Jon rolled his eyes. “And how convenient would that be? I guess it’s a coincidence you guys just attract trouble at school. Has no one else noticed how whenever there’s a ghost, these three are there?” He pointed accusingly at the trio, meeting the gaze of each of his classmates.

“I mean, lots of us are there for that stuff,” Kwan said.

“It’s actually true,” Dylan interrupted. “I always try to avoid ghost attacks, because it always gets so crazy, and I don’t want to die. I’ve got a list of stuff to stay away from.” He shot Danny an apologetic glance, his voice softening on his final words. “Danny’s on that list.”

“Thank you!” Jon yelled. “Anyone else?”

Uneasy mutterings arose amongst the Casper High students. Casey, Grayson, and the others outside the class made no contribution.

“Jon.” Danny spoke in the same low voice no one seemed able to resist. “I get there’s a lot of stuff going on, but it’s difficult to explain.”

“No it’s not,” Jon hissed. “Just tell us. You promised you would!”

“And I will! I’ll tell you everything, I’ve already told you lots.” Danny sounded like he was pleading, begging Jon to understand.

Those watching were just as confused as the people they viewed. They had learned, in the past couple weeks, that Danny certainly had a lot of secrets. But if he already planned on telling them, why couldn’t he just _do it_?

“Then keep talking!”

“Will both of you stop it?” Kay interrupted, glaring at the boys with a level of disapproval only a mother could achieve. She had her hands pressed against the fake Leo’s ears, a scolding look on her face. She turned to Jon. “This isn’t how you go about dealing with your issues, especially in this situation. And you.”

Kay faced Danny now. “My daughter looks up to you. Please, if you know anything that can help us, just tell us?”

Danny’s expression seemed to smooth out. It wasn’t blank, but it was certainly calmer than before. Though with every angry, huffing breath Jon took, something seemed to flicker in Danny’s eyes. He sighed, a remorseful sound, and met Kay’s gaze. “That… isn’t Leo.”

Everyone seemed to freeze for a heartbeat, their gazes slowly settled on the girl in question.

“What do you mean?” Kay asked after a moment of silence.

Danny grimaced. “She, _it’s_ , not Leo. It’s a ghost.”

A horrified look crossed Kay’s face as she stared at what she thought was her daughter. The little girl looked up, pulling Kay’s hands away from her ears. “He ruined it, didn’t he?”

Kay let out a muffled shriek and shoved the fake Leo away, scrambling across the sand to put some space between them. Everyone seemed to take a step back. The doppelganger looked at Danny. “I was having so much fun. But they can see me now.”

“Dude, where’s her face?” Tucker whispered.

Just as Tucker finished speaking, a slit opened where the fake Leo’s mouth should have been. It stretched wide, wider than physically possible, and blinked open onyx eyes.

“Sorry I asked,” Tucker wheezed.

“Remember your promise, Danny,” the ghost said, no longer speaking in Leo’s voice, but something far more sinister. It giggled, an eerie sound, then shot into the air and disappeared inside the forest.

“What the hell was that?!” Jon shouted, voice high with fear and rage, making Danny flinch again.

“The ghost we’re dealing with, I think,” Sam said.

“Fenton, I swear, if you’re helping them, I’ll-”

“That’s not what it was saying,” Danny interrupted. He didn’t sound nervous anymore. In fact, he sounded angry like Jon. “He got me to promise I would take care of all the bad guys. He’s challenging me, or returning my challenge.”

“And when did _you_ challenge him?” Paulina asked, sounding more shocked than concerned.

“Um, when we got here?” Danny chuckled nervously and rubbed the back of his neck. “I may have said for them to come to us?”

“Danny, you idiot!” Sam punched him in the shoulder. “Do you want to die that much?”

“Do you want us to die?” Dylan asked with wide eyes.

“No!” Danny shouted, throwing up his hands and shaking his head. “Of course I don’t want that!”

Jon, who had been impressively holding his tongue for the past five seconds, exploded. “What the hell, Fenton?!”

His tirade was a tumble of words, only small snatches of his sentences distinguishable from the stream of sounds falling from his mouth. His face was turning red, spit flying from his mouth, but still he didn’t stop shouting. Casey, who had the misfortune of supporting Jon, was doing her best to plug her ears.

The others shuffled back, but where too enraptured by the entire exchange to move to a quieter distance.

“What the hell is all this secrecy for?” Jon roared. He stomped his good foot, fists clenching by his side He swung an arm out to the forest. “We should be out there, looking for that little girl!”

“No!” Danny shouted back. His expression was eerily similar to Jon’s. Eyebrows drawn together, mouth a tight line, pupils constricted. “I’m the only one who’s going to rescue her.”

“Oh, so you can be a hero?” Jon spat. He leaned forwards and sneered. “You’ll go off and get yourself killed so some kid smiles _so_ much brighter when she sees you, and we’ll all just be sitting here waiting for the military to come rescue us!”

“The military won’t be able to rescue us,” Danny said between gritted teeth. It was hard to hear, because of the pained lilt his voice had taken, but there was a note of guilt.

“You knew this whole time?!” Jon shouted. He shoved Casey aside to stand on his own. The CA stumbled back, rubbing her shoulder. Her face fell as she look at Jon’s back, eyes clouding with hurt. Jon remained oblivious to the rift he may have just made, instead hobbling towards Danny. He winced with every step.

“This isn’t Danny’s fault!” Sam intervened, stepping in front of her friend before Jon could reach him. For a moment they just glared at each other, then they both took a deep breath and the screaming match began.

Fingers were pointed, shoulders were shoved, and even the people watching the video thought their eardrums might get blown.

Tucker’s head was whipping back and forth between the shouting teens and Danny, who had gone from wincing to clutching his head. At first he looked pained, then he started grinding his teeth together, eyes screwed shut with his eyebrows knit together.

“Guys, you need to chill,” Tucker said, stepping towards the fight.

“Shut up, Foley!” Jon shouted, shoving the techno-geek away.

“Really, you need to calm down!” Tucker insisted.

Sam stopped shouting mid-sentence and looked at Tucker, who was jerking his head towards Danny. Sam’s eyes widened when she saw the obvious pain her best friend was in. “Jon, shut up,” she snapped.

“No! I want to know what the fuck is going on. Why is Fenton so messed up? Why aren’t you guys telling us anything? I’m pissed, and I’m getting answers!” Jon all but screamed.

Danny was hunched over now. When his eyes snapped open, he looked _pissed_. They were no longer the soft baby blue the viewers had come to recognize, either. Instead they were a bright, acidic green. The same colour they had glimpsed twice before now. Not only that, but his hair seemed like it was a few shades lighter.

“Jon!” Sam hissed.

“No way, he’s not getting off easy. That girl is missing, and he thinks he can just blow us off because he’s Danny fucking-”

“Phantom!” Danny’s shout, which had a significant echo to it, silenced everyone. His blazing eyes flickered between blue and green. A ring of light snapped and popped in various places around his body. Circling his waist, his wrist, or his head. Each time it appeared, it seemed to split apart for a moment, straining to separate itself. Between the rings swatches of black fabric and white locks of hair could be seen, before they fizzled away and reappeared somewhere else.

“Because he’s Danny _fucking_ Phantom and three years of shit piles up fast when you’re constantly trying to save the world, _and_ keep up an identity as a social outcast! Because he’s struggled with trying to figure out what the hell he is when he’s not human, and he’s not a ghost either. Nothing but a freak!”

Sam and Tucker had backed away from Danny, the goth pulling Jon with her. Danny was standing straight, and it made him look taller than normal. Almost like he was shouting down at the other Survivalists.

“Because he’s had people die in his arms when he wasn’t fast enough, or smart enough. Because I’m trying to keep you all from having to go through that. Not even Sam and Tucker know what it’s like to watch the light fade from someone’s eyes, to know you’ve failed so horribly, and there’s nothing you can do to change that.”

The ring formed around his waist against, and this time it looked like it wasn’t going away. It slowly split apart. His eyes glowed, face still twisted as if he were in horrible pain.

“But you want to use the life of a little girl, who I could have just failed, as ammunition against me. Because you’re too fucking proud to admit I’m actually trying to do something, and maybe there’s a reason I’m not letting anyone come with me, so they don’t have to see that light die too!” The echo in Danny’s voice fluctuated as he ranted, and his final words were spoken with a deep reverberation.

The ring reached Danny’s chest, revealing a familiar _DP_ logo on the front of his black jumpsuit before snapping shut one last time. “Because Leo is missing, and I’m Danny-fucking-Phantom!”


	25. The King Calls

_Welcome to_ **_Amity 117_** _chat forum_

**_Mud-of-Solitude_ ** **has logged in**

**_Mud-of-Solitude_** **:** Holy frickfrack, someone please log on!

 ** _Mud-of-Solitude:_** Seriously! What the shiz!

**_LordOfMud_ ** **has logged in**

**_LordOfMud:_** Crazy Boy izn’t crazy!!!!

 ** _Mud-of-Solitude:_** I know!

**_NoIsY_ ** **has logged in**

**_NoIsY:_** People! This Is So Big! Danny Can Save Everyone!

 ** _LordOfMud:_** Guess that Wilkes chick waz totally right! In your face, peasant!

 ** _Mud-of-Solitude:_** The article still could have been better

 ** _LordOfMud:_** Boo!

**_Fantomo_ ** **has logged in**

**_Mud-of-Solitude:_** This is flipping amazing, but all I’m saying is there’s so much that doesn’t make sense! How can a person be a ghost? Isn’t ectoplasm like poison or something?

 **Mud-of-Solitude:** Is he dead? Is he even human? Maybe he’s neither. I checked her blog, Wilkes doesn’t have any theories about this stuff, just that one annoying article

 ** _LordOfMud:_** How should I know? I don’t even care! Phantom and Fenton are the same person, and that is hot!

 ** _NoIsY:_** That… That Doesn’t Make Sense

 ** _LordOfMud:_** ...peasants

 ** _Fantomo:_** That’s not totally correct

 ** _LordOfMud:_** Yeah it iz. I’m a lord, you guyz aren’t. So… peasants

 ** _Fantomo:_** Not that, jeez. The ectoplasm poison thing. There’s a lot of stuff you need to consider

 ** _Mud-of-Solitude:_** Like what?

 ** _Fantomo:_** Genetics, age, health, that kind of stuff. Like, ghost hunting weapons don’t harm people, right? But pure ectoplasm can be lethal, or something like that? Danny knows more

 ** _Fantomo_** **:** And halfa’s are more complicated than just dead or alive

 ** _LordOfMud:_** Wait!!!! Danny is Phantom, and that’s big, _big_ news! Like, aaaaaaahhhhh! I can’t believe it (but I totally can)! But there’z a Phantom _chick_ too, and ur Danny’s cuz, right?

 ** _NoIsY:_** Oh. My. Goodness.

 ** _Fantomo:_** It’s a lie, I’m not a ghost!

 ** _LordOfMud:_** You’re Danielle Phantom!

 ** _Fantomo:_** Um…

 ** _Fantomo:_** Maybe?

 ** _LordOfMud:_**!!!!!!!!!

 ** _Mud-of-Solitude:_** Mind = blown. How does the ghost thing work? You have to tell us!

 ** _NoIsY:_** Can _You_ Find Them And Save Them?

 ** _LordOfMud:_** Were you born like that?

 ** _LordOfMud:_** Iz it a Fenton thing?

 ** _LordOfMud:_** Can we be ghosts too???

**_Fantomo_ ** **has logged out**

**_Mud-of-Solitude:_** You scared her away again

 ** _LordOfMud:_** I need to know! X.X

 ** _NoIsY:_** Hey, Where’s KingArthur?

 ** _LordOfMud:_** Ooh, what if he’s a ghost too? What if he’s that Lance dude!

 ** _Mud-of-Solitude:_** No, shut up, you suck at this. Have you guys seen the news?

 ** _LordOfMud:_** Srsly? I’m too freaking hyped! Danny iz Phantom! Danny iz Phantom!

 ** _Mud-of-Solitude:_** No, really! People are freaking out. Something is going down in Amity right now!

 ** _KingArthur_** **has logged in**

 ** _LordOfMud:_** You’re not in jail!

 ** _KingArthur:_** No, but Wes is! Seriously, haven’t you seen the news?

 ** _LordOfMud:_** Nope ^-^

 ** _KingArthur:_** Doesn’t matter. The news is all controlled anyways, but we’ve got to help Wes!

 ** _Mud-of-Solitude:_** Um, what?

 ** _KingArthur:_** Knights of the Round, your king is calling you to arms! Raise your swords high and charge with me into the belly of the beast! Settle your affairs and meet me in Amity Park in five days. Your brothers and sisters in arms have already heeded my call!

 ** _Mud-of-Solitude:_** Wait, what the hell are you talking about?

**_KingArthur_ ** **has logged out**

**_LordOfMud:_** For Camelot!!!

 ** _Mud-of-Solitude:_** WAIT!

 ** _NoIsY:_** Inside Voices Please

 ** _Mud-of-Solitude:_** What the heck! This is crazy! You know the GIW have them, right?

 ** _LordOfMud:_** Our brother needz us!

 ** _Mud-of-Solitude:_** Brother?! We’re a bunch of nerds in a group chat! And who the frell are these ‘brothers and sisters’?!

 ** _LordOfMud:_** Other chat people?

 ** _Mud-of-Solitude:_** It’s only ever us!

 ** _NoIsY:_** There’s That Cirque Guy. And Allan Something?

 ** _LordOfMud:_** The ghost girl?

 ** _NoIsY:_** TechMaster?

 ** _LordOfMud:_** That Star Warz-y dude?

 ** _Mud-of-Solitude:_** You’re all crazy! I’m out of here

**_Mud-of-Solitude_ ** **has logged out**

**_LordOfMud:_** Laaaaame. Fallout, you in?

 ** _NoIsY:_** I’ve already got my plane ticket

**_NoIsY_ ** **has logged out**

**_LordOfMud:_** Booyah!

**_LordOfMud_ ** **has logged out**


	26. the Things We Condemn

Tiffany Snow wore a serious expression on her face. Her mouth was a tight line, eyebrows drawn together, eyes unwavering. She stared straight into the camera, the papers in her hands crinkling under her tight grip. Over her left shoulder was a screenshot of Danny Fenton, mid-morph, with a blazing look in his eyes.

“Welcome, viewers, to Ghost Watch.” Her normal jovial tone was absent. “Earlier today Amity Park, North America, the _world_ was shaken by this revelation.”

The picture in the corner filled the screen, and a short clip from the most recent Survivalists’ video played.

_“I’m Danny-[CENSORED]-Phantom!”_

The video froze as the _DP_ symbol was revealed. Danny’s eyes were an acidic green, their bright glow hinting at his unbelievable power.

The picture was minimized, and Tiffany returned to the screen, eyes flashing with emotion. Some people saw anger, others pity or sadness. Only a few recognize the brief flicker for what it was: a solemn understanding.

Tiffany cleared her throat, shuffling her papers into place, and continued. “Following the revelation, followers of the Survivalists flooded the internet with clips such as this from the original video. Daniel Fenton’s declaration confirms Technus’ statement from our last interview. Halfas are real, and our own town hero is one of them. We have not been able to confirm whether the other ghosts in question, Plasmius and the ghost girl, are halfas or not.”

A new image appeared in the corner of the screen, this one of a large crowd of people standing outside the famed Fenton Works. Many of them looked angry, shouting at the building, throwing their fists in the air, while others stood against them, arms out as if they were trying to push the crowd back.

“It wasn't long until people took to the streets, and mere hours later the rioting began,” Tiffany said. “Outside Fenton Works, people started to gather. Some are accusing the family of experimentation,  and a number of them are declaring the so-called halfas to be abominations, while others showed their support for the stranded hero. It didn’t take long before a fight broke out. To share with you here, we have footage from a cellphone submitted to the station.”

…

It was hard to hear what anyone was saying, individual voices lost in the tumult of sounds - the phone’s weak microphone struggled to distinguish one shout from the next. Whoever was recording stood on the outskirts of the crowd and was slowly making their way towards a large brownstone building, Fenton Works.

“I’m here, outside Fenton Works.” The camera flipped to reveal a teenage boy. He looked like he was the same age as Danny’s class, though the only thing distinctive about him was the tattoo peeking out from under his shirt collar, the Millennium Falcon from _Star Wars_. He lowered his phone and glanced away, looking casual.

“It turns out that Danny Fenton is a ghost, or part ghost. I don’t really know. He’s Danny’ Phantom. Which is so cool.” The boy glanced down. “But he’s still a dick.”

He went on to grumble about vomit, lunchboxes, and monkey bars before flipping the camera forwards again. For a second only pavement was visible, the camera swaying as he walked, until the focus went from sidewalk, to grass, to the crowd again. The boy had managed to slip up next to the building, so he had a clear view of the frontline.

Not everyone was facing Fenton Works. Some stood with their backs to it and were shouting at the protestors.

“People are going crazy,” the boy said. The camera swivelled to focus on the building, revealing a broken window pane. “Someone threw a brick, like, a minute ago, and- _holy shit_ , that guy has a gun!”

A large man had shouldered his way to the front of the crowd and was staring down one of the people defending Phantom and his family. The camera zoomed in on the rifle in his hands, the barrel of which was shoved under a smaller man’s chin.

The shouting started to die out.

“This family of freaks did something sick and created that... that _thing_ ,” the man with the gun rumbled. “You know how many people it killed last year?”

“That wasn’t Phantom,” the one being threatened said. His voice had the slightest waiver, but his eyes and stance were firm with conviction.

The man with the gun narrowed his eyes, jerking the barrel so the other’s head was forced back. “And now our kids are in danger.Someone needs to pay for what that freak’s done!”

There was loud crash and the boy holding the phone jumped, the video becoming a blur of movement as he fumbled to catch his phone. A loud bang and the unmistakable sound of a gunshot was followed by a number of piercing screams.

“No one talks about my baby like that!” A woman shouted.

The camera steadied just long enough to focus the man with the gun flat on his back, a bright green substance splashed across his chest, before the video cuts out.

…

Tiffany was grimacing when the news studio returned on screen.

“Following the exchange, both parties broke into a brawl. Police responded to the scene, and while several arrests were made,” a number of mugshots flashed across the screen, including one for the large man with the gun, and another of Maddie Fenton, “they were unable to contain the event.”

“On behalf of the mayor, we are issuing a warning for everyone to stay inside and lock your doors until the rioting stops. Firefighters, police officers, and other emergency personnel are responding as fast as they can. If you are in need of assistance, dial nine-one-one and find a safe zone until help can arrive.”

The words EMERGENCY MEASURES started scrolling across the bottom of the screen, followed by bulleted points of Tiffany’s statement. The red banner did not fade, but continued in a loop.

The image of the protestors was replaced with the bold, black and white logo of the Guys In White.

“In related news, most attempts to contact the Guys In White on the matter have been met with silence. As some of you may know, yesterday weatherman Lance Thunder and local teen Wesley Weston confronted the GIW on their efforts to find the Survivalists on behalf of the station, and the rest of Amity Park. They were subsequently arrested and detained within the GIW headquarters.” Tiffany’s eyes gleamed with unshed tears. “There has been no news from them, or their situation, since, and the GIW director, Agent A, refuses to shed light on the situation. I was able to reach him earlier, and this is our recorded conversation.”

…

 **Tiffany:** Hi, this is Tiffany Snow of Amity Park News. Who am I speaking to?

 **Agent A:** I am to understand, Ms. Snow, that you have made several attempts to contact us on the past half hour?

 **Tiffany:** Yes. Who am I speaking to?

 **Agent A:** GIW director, Agent A.

 **Tiffany:** Mr. Director, hello. What are the efforts of the Guys In White to find the Survivalists?

 **Agent A:** All GIW operations are classified.

 **Tiffany:** Can you confirm whether any rescue efforts are being made?

 **Agent A:** Ms. Snow, your associate had already asked us these questions, and he has been detained for trespassing, and interfering with government operations. Anything related to GIW activity requires level six clearance, which you do not have.

 **Tiffany:** Were the Guys in White aware of the existence of halfas?

 **Agent A:**...

 **Tiffany:** Now that you are aware, what does this mean for Phantom, and the other alleged halfas?

 **Agent A:** Danny Phantom is a level eight entity and will be dealt with accordingly.

 **Tiffany:** I’m sorry, what?

 **Agent A:** Any further attempts to contact us will be treated as treason. Good day, Ms. Snow.

...

“We have not tried to contact them again,” Tiffany said gravely. “I later spoke with Mayor Masters, and he issued an unofficial statement condemning the actions of the Guys in White. When we have yet to see them act, we can't help but wonder: what have they already done that needs to be condemned?”


	27. The Switch

At midnight, the next video aired. It started where the last one ended, with Danny’s final declaration echoing across the beach in that deep, reverberating voice. Silence followed as Danny’s appearance started to stabilize. Black hair, blue eyes, tattered clothes, looking as human as he possibly could. There was no hint of the ghostly power hidden underneath that skin.

Before anyone could say anything, Danny groaned and dropped to his knees, curling around his injured arm. No one had noticed it during his rant, the white rings and snippets of his ghostly self had been far more enrapturing, but blood was now dripping heavily between makeshift bindings. Danny’s eyes were screwed shut, his mouth twisting, his whole face scrunched in pain.

“Danny!” Sam and Tucker shouted. While Tucker ran to a pile of smaller bags, Sam dropped into the sand beside her friend. She reached forwards, her hands hovering above him, but not touching.

Danny let out several pained gasps, his eyes going wide, before he dropped onto his side, unconscious. Now Sam laid her hands on his shoulder, carefully stretching out his arm. She lifted the hem of his shirt and stared at the leaves plastered across his chest, just as bloody as the ones on his arm.

“Pass me some water,” Sam demanded, thrusting her hand out to whoever was closest. Jon didn’t move, he just continued to stare at the unconscious boy.

Behind Jon, Kay nodded and headed for the plane at a brisk pace. She returned with a single bottle of water.

“It’s the last one,” Kay said before stepping back. A few worried gasps trickled from the mouths of the watching Survivalists, but most of them were silent.

Sam swept her long hair over her shoulder and leaned forwards, pressing the mouth of the open bottle to Danny’s lips. She tiled it, but the water only dribbled down into the sand.

“Come _on,_ Danny,” she hissed. Sam glanced at the bottle, then at the stained sand. Making a decision, she raised the bottle to her own lips and took a sip, but didn’t swallow it. She leaned down again, tilting Danny’s head back, and pressed their lips together. Danny’s reflexes kicked in and his Adam’s apple bobbed as he drank the water. Sam did this a couple more times before capping the bottle and setting it aside.

Tucker joined her by Danny’s side, a small orange backpack in his hands. The camera closed in on the open zipper, revealing the bag’s contents. Prescription medication, a small pair of scissors, tweezers, and a couple melted ice packs. Anything useful, like bandages or gauze pads, had been used to fix everyone else’s bumps and bruises after the initial crash.

“Shit, this is bad, this is _really_ bad,” Tucker said, his voice shaking.

As if he had spoken the magic words, everyone began moving.

“What the hell!?” Jon shouted. He stumbled back and fell into the sand, wide eyes and pale faced. “What the fuck was that? What the hell _is_ Fenton?”

“I knew it!” At the back of the group, Rux threw her arms into the air and whooped excitedly. She spun around to face Will and grabbed his shoulders. “I know he wasn’t normal. Oh, the girlfriend would _so_ love this!”

“Danny is Phantom?” Mikey asked quietly. He stared down at the raven-haired teen. “Is he… is he dead?”

Mikey’s question was followed by another heavy silence, mimicked by around the world by everyone watching.

Sam didn’t answer. She reached towards the bag Tucker had brought and pulled out the scissors, cutting away Danny’s t-shirt. Tucker pulled the fabric off and used it to soak up the blood on Danny’s chest and arm.

Without the shirt to cover him, the scars peppering Danny’s chest and shoulder were visible for all to see. Three thick lines, like claw marks, crawled over his left shoulder. A puckered circle on his upper arm, a good two inches wide. The most alarm scar a narrow diamond, startlingly close to Danny’s heart. The camera floated around to his back so the viewers could see the exit wound on the other side, nestled amongst a spiderweb of thin, red lines that looked like a splintering lightning strike. An injury like that would have been fatal.

As Tucker finished dabbing at Danny’s wounds, the shirt was no longer white, but it looked like the bleeding had stopped. He dropped the bloody rag onto the sand, beside the dark red stain that had been forming beneath Danny.

“That doesn’t matter right now,” Sam spat, finally answering Mikey’s question. “You don’t know just happened, what _you_ did.”

“No, we don’t,” Jon said firmly. He sat up straight and crossed his arms. It looked like his confidence was returning, but his face was still white. “Explain it to us.”

“Dylan, help Tucker take Danny to the plane,” Sam said.

Tucker gingerly lifted Danny so he was almost sitting and looped the taller boy’s arm around his shoulder. When no one joined him, the camera swivelled to look at Dylan. The paranoid boy was hesitating, watching Danny warily.

Sam scowled at him. “Fine. Will? Can you help?”

“I’ll fill you in later,” Rux hissed loudly as Will made his way towards Danny. He took Dany’s other arm and they carry him off screen.

Sam watched them for a moment, worrying her bottom lip as unease clouded her eyes. She shook her head, a small and determined frown settling on her face. She set her shoulders and turned to face other Survivalists.

“Shut up and listen up, I’m not going to repeat anything. I don’t want any dumb questions, so wait until I’m finished before you ask anything, alright?” Sam said. She glared at the group, her frightening stare jumping from person to person.

She earned a few meek nods in response.

Sam sighed again, curling her hands around her hair. In a few short, deft movements, Sam swept her hair up in a very messy bun, wrapping and looping it so she didn’t need a tie. There were a number of loose strands falling from the knot and around her face, but she seemed satisfied with her quick work.

“We don’t really know what Danny is,” she started, pacing back and forth in front of the others. “There was an accident, and he became fused with pure ectoplasm, or something like that. At first we thought it just gave him these cool powers, but then we realized it was more than that. He’s not a ghost, but he’s like a… a _phantom_.”

Sam smiled wryly, her eyes glinting with humour.

“We kind of just say he’s half-human, half-ghost, even though that’s probably not accurate. A lot of other ghosts call him a halfa, so we kind of just use that word too.” She paused, wrapping a strand of hair around her finger as she frowned. “That’s really all you need to know about _what_ he is.”

“But-”

Sam’s head snapped towards Paulina, a dark glower settling on her face. The Latina shrivelled under the stare, pressing her knuckles to her lips. She shook her head and let Sam continue.

“When we got here, Danny could feel something was wrong. He already said he knew the pilot was overshadowed, but this isn’t some random island. Pariah cell is our code word for it. Some of you, those of you from Amity, will remember the whole Pariah Dark incident where the whole town was covered in a massive ghost barrier.”

They weren’t the only ones that remembered. Those watching remembered the rumours a couple years ago, of how a whole town just disappeared for an entire day, nothing but a gaping crater left behind.

“Humans can’t always see them. Don’t confuse them with ghost _shields_. These barriers are _made_ by ghosts, and can have a bunch of different purposes. This one’s main function seems to be suppressing Danny’s powers, though it obviously has his limits. But even _that_ isn’t the whole problem!” Sam stopped pacing and folded her arms. Her bottom lip was quivering, eyebrows furrowed, nails digging into the skin of her arms as she stared at the dark red sand by her feet. She looked at Jon and marched forwards, leaning down and poking him sharply in the chest.

“You could have killed him!” she shouted. She shoved Jon again, pushing him into the sand. “Forget that, you could have _ended_ him, destabilized him! Even _Danny_ can’t come back from that!”

“How the hell am I supposed to know that? I still don’t even know what just happened!” Jon shouted back.

“Despite what lots of people think, ghosts are _very_ emotional, more emotional than humans. It’s why they’re perceived as so violent. Too much of any emotion can make someone act out drastically. But emotions are also food for them. To maintain their form, they need to… consume,” Sam cringed, “from the emotions of other things. But for them it’s like breathing, an unconscious reaction, which means they can constantly _feel_ the emotions in the air around them.”

Sam waved her arms, her hands dancing around the general space surround Jon. “And it influences them. Emotions running high is like a… a physical block for ghosts, and it can influence their behaviour. It goes double for Danny, because he has his own human emotions to take into account.”

She leaned down so she was eye level with Jon. Her narrowed gaze seemed to bore into the people watching. They could only imagine the levels of hatred and anger Jon was receiving.

“Then you have to go off on your stupid verbal crusade, throwing your emotions at him, and making him lose control!” she shouted.

“So what?” Jon spat back. He was leaning away from Sam, his hands digging into the sand and his face turned slightly away. “He got a little angry, who cares? I still don’t see how I almost ‘ended’ him or whatever.”

Sam threw her arms up and shouted at the sky, “Because he’s not a ghost!” She stomped her foot, her annoyance clearly written on her face as her eye twitched and her frown slowly grew deeper.

“But you-”

“Shut up, Kwan, I know what I said!” Sam spun to face the jock, who cowered under her glare. The expression fell from her face a moment later. She took a step back, groaning and rubbing at her face. Her shoulders rose and fell as she took several deep breaths. “It’s… really complicated. Danny’s powers are like a switch.”

Sam dug her heel into the sand and drew a line, putting and ‘H’ on one side, and a ‘G’ on the other. “One way is human, and the other is ghost. Either way the switch is always on. But its power can be cut.”

She kicked away the line with her toes, and some of the sand distorted the two letters. “Deactivating the switch eliminates the barrier between the halves, and Danny’s left in a… a _suspended_ state. His wounds won’t heal, but he also can’t die, and he won’t really _feel_ anything. He can’t get hungry, or thirsty, he doesn’t sleep. And he can’t transform.”

Sam crouched before the letters and dragged her palm over the sand, smoothing it out to create a blank space. “When the switched is ‘connected’ again everything will sort of catch up to him. He’ll bleed, he’ll feel hungry, and he could even die.” She stood and kicked the whole thing away. “And _you_ , Jon, just made him reconnect that switch, if only for a moment, because he was influenced by _your_ emotions.”

“His blood shouldn’t be here!” Sam stomped over to the reddish brown patch of sand and clawed at it, picking up a clump and chucking it at the downed basketball player. Jon flinched as the sand struck his face and chest, leaving behind faint red streaks when it fell to his lap.

Sam stared at her hand, as stained as Jon’s cheek. Her lip trembled and she quickly wiped the blood onto her her shorts, the maroon streaks hiding in the dark fabric. She started walking towards the plane, throwing her final words over her shoulder, “I’m going to make sure _you_ didn’t kill him.”

The camera, focused on Sam’s retreating figured, panned away from the Goth and back to the other Survivalists. They had moved from the positions the held not even ten seconds ago, but the lower angle of the sun told the viewers a short time had passed.

Everyone had gravitated into small, predictable groups. The camera zoomed towards the A-listers first.

Kwan, Star, and Paulina were sitting by the bags.

“Does this make sense? It kind of makes sense to me.” Kwan, sprawled out on his back, looked between the two girls as he spoke.

Star rolled her eyes, pulling her knees closer to her chest. “What part? Manson kind of unloaded a lot of information.”

“Fenton being Danny Phantom!” Kwan sat up, supporting himself with one hand and gesturing enthusiastically with the other. “He’s always late and stuff, right? And always disappearing? There's all kinds of freaky stuff on his parent’s lab, I bet. It probably doesn't take much to make a… a halfa?”

“He’s more of a freak now than ever,” Star said with a scoff. She nudged Paulina, who was fiddling with a hole in her shorts, tugging at the thin white strings that stretched across it and picking the frayed edges. “Right, Paulie?”

“Hm?” Paulina looked up, her hands stilling. She lowered them into the sand and buried her fingers in the golden grains. “I don't know.”

Star blinked. “What?”

“I love the ghost boy,” Paulina said, her voice cracking. “He's saved me so many times, and he knew my name, and I have a _shrine_ to him in my locker!” Her last words were quiet, most of her focus diverted to her hands as she pushed and pulled at the sand, digging a small hole.

Star reached forwards and grabbed Paulina’s wrist, stopping the motion. She twined their fingers together and looked her friend in the eye. “Do you like Danny Fenton?”

Paulina hesitated before answering. “... No.  he has the Goth bitch anyways.”

“And you have us,” Star said. She looked at Kwan, who nodded quickly. “And you have Dash, and the other A-listers. You are Paulina Sanchez, you don't need Danny Phantom, or Danny anything. Okay?”

Paulina nodded slowly, returning Star’s smile. “Thanks.”

“Of course.” Star grinned. “I can't let Caspers queen bee lose face over a _boy_ , ghost hero or otherwise.”

A small laugh bubbled from the Latina’s lips, and the camera drifted away to focus on the next group.

...

Jon was sitting at the edge of the surf. As the waves came in, the water splashed over his outstretched legs. His face was wet, but the streaks of red were gone. Casey hovered close by, just beyond the wet sand, while Dylan paved behind her. Jon didn't make any move to acknowledge either them, but he must have known they were there.

“I couldn’t control it,” he said. “I know it sounds like an excuse, and I probably would have kept yelling anyways, but…”

“You couldn't stop?” Casey finished.

“Even if I wanted to.” Jon scooted back so he was on dry sand.

Casey sat down beside him. “I said you reminded me of my cousin, right?”

“Something like that, yeah.” Jon nodded.

“He’s around your age now. Him and his mom lived with use when I was in high school, he was like a little brother to me. They moved to Canada a few years ago and I haven't really seen him in awhile, money’s right,” Casey said. “He’s stubborn, like you, and a little headstrong. Easily influenced by pretty girls, and he has a hell of a temper. I miss him.”

“Is that why you became a stewardess, flight attendant, whatever?” Jon asked.

“Cabin attendant,” Casey corrected him, but she was smiling. “Though I think they're all the same thing, aren't they? But yes. I was hoping I could eventually work a flight to Canada. If it was headed to the right area, I could visit him.”

“That's… sweet.” Jon’s mouth twisted as he said the last word, like it pained him. “What does it have to do with anything?”

“The short tempter. He would get mad and say stuff he didn't mean. He always regretted most of it after, said his tongue worked faster than his brain. But we always forgave him.”

“I still don't get it,” Jon hissed, grinding his teeth together.

Casey giggled. “You're a little denser than he is. My point is that Danny will probably forgive you. I haven't really spoken to him at all, or been around him much, but he seems like that kind of person.”

“Like I care what Fenton thinks,” Jon said. He stood up and stretched his arms above his head, leaning carefully on his uninjured leg. “The guy is the bottom of the high school food chain.”

“I think you do. I think you care a lot about what people think, and Danny commands a lot of respect for a guy you think so little of.”

“Why aren't you guys freaking out about this?” Dylan asked. He had stopped pacing and was standing beside Jon, tugging at his hair. “Danny is… he isn't _human._ ”

“Dylan, I think you're being a little harsh,” Casey said, her tone scolding and a scowl on her face.

“Sam even said so!” Dylan insisted. “I know Phantom’s a hero and everything, but he's just a ghost! Danny can't be a ghost, it doesn't make sense. Fused with ectoplasm? It doesn't… it doesn't make any sense!”

Dylan dropped into a crouch, knotting his fingers in his hair. His mouth was twisted, eyes screwed shut, eyebrows drawn together. “Ghosts are dangerous, even Phantom. You know how much power he has? I overheard those stupid Guys in White once. On a scale of ten, he's a level _eight_. And that was two years ago! He's dangerous, and powerful, and unpredictable. Danny’s a rogue variable with the power to take out an army!”

“Are you done?” Jon asked after a beat of silence. His arms were crossed, a smirk tugging at the corner of his lips.

Dylan uncurled, dropping back into the sand, and blinked. “Um, yes?”

“Good. I may not like Fenton, but there's no denying Phantom is good. How many times has he save your life?” Jon cocked an eyebrow as he looked down at Dylan.

“I- I don't keep track…” Dylan answered.

“So what if he doesn't fit into your paranoid ramblings? So he's a rogue variable that can take on an army, or something, but he's on _our_ side.”

Dylan pressed his lips into a firm line, he twisted his fingers together and started tugging. “But he can't _be_ a ghost.”

Jon and Casey’s eyes met. Jon shrugged, smirk slipping just a little, while Casey sighed and  frowned. She shook her head, and the camera floated over her shoulder towards the largest group.

Andy, Valerie, Marie, and Mikey were gathered under the small lean-to Rux and Will had made, though the shape it provided was easily overtaken by the shadows of the trees. Unlike the others, these four were already in the middle of a heated discussion or Andy and Valerie were, while Marie and Miley watched silently.

“He’s a menace,” Valerie hissed, fists clenched. “He's robbed places, taken the mayor hostage, people _die_ when he’s around!”

“Just because you think Phantom ruined your life you think he’s evil!” Andy shot back, pointing an accusing finger at Valerie. “How little did we know about ghosts back then? How many things do you think we misunderstood?”

“Just because _you_ have a _crush_ on Danny doesn't mean he’s good!”

“Are you kidding me?” Andy threw his arms forwards and motioned up and down to Valerie. “You _dated_ him, you _loved_ him!”

“I didn't love him!” Valerie snapped, but she was blushing, and her eyebrows were drawn together as she stared at the sand. “That’s not the point, that was before I knew he shot at me!”

“What?” Andy faltered, blinking and furrowing his brow.

“Yeah!” Valerie nodded, a triumphant smile on her face. “When we were dating, he shot at me! And he destroyed my…” Her voice grew quiet, frown deepening, until her lips curled into a surprised ‘o’. “He… he knew I wasn't in the suit…”

Like the others before her, Valerie’s face was a mask of confusion and conflict. She raked her fingers through the sand, slowly lifting a hand to her side.

“That's not the point!” she shouted again, but there was less fire in her words. She planted a hand on Mikey’s shoulder and used the short redhead for leverage as she struggled to her feet.

“What isn't?” Andy asked, leaning forwards.

“It doesn't matter!” Valerie’s voice shook, and her eyes were watery. “He knew, and he didn't tell me! It's like it's all just some joke to him!”

Her breath hitched and she spun around. With tears spilling down her cheeks, she stumbled away, anger and sorrow written across her face.

“Uh, should one of us help her?” Miley asked. “She _does_ have a broken leg.”

Valerie nearly fell, hopping on one food for a couple feet before putting to much wait in her broken leg. She screamed in frustration through gritted teeth.

“I think she might kill us if we do,” Andy answered, looking on with pity.

“Hey.”

The boys turned to Marie, who had spoken.

“How… how do you think it happened?” she asked.

“Sam said it was an accident, right? Danny missed the first couple days of freshman or something. It probably happened just before that,” Mikey said. He started counting off his fingers, mouthing quietly, before he spoke again. “It matches with when all the ghost stuff started happening.”

“But what if it wasn't an accident?” Marie was hunched over, knees pressed together, fingers knotted in the laces of her shoes. “His parents are scientists. What if they…”

“Did something?” Andy ventured.

Marie nodded slowly.

“Danny’s parents are kind of eccentric, but I don't think they'd do anything like that,” he said. He shuffled closer to Marie and put an arm around her shoulder. She stiffened, but leaned in after a moment.

“Marie, are you okay?” Mikey asked. He fiddled with his glasses even though they were settled perfectly on his nose.

Marie tilted her head down, so her face was hiding behind a curtain of hair. A muffled and shaky, “No,” left her lips before the camera moved on.

…

At the tail end of the plan, Kay had waded into the shallow water. It splashed around her knees as she hugged herself, staring out into the horizon. The sky was just starting to darken where it met the ocean, the sun behind her touching the peaks of the northern mountain. She took a deep, shuddering breath.

A louder splashing joined the quiet tumbling of the waves, and the camera panned around to reveal Grayson walking towards the woman. He stopped beside her, not saying anything, just standing there.

The seconds on the video ticked by. It was almost peaceful, if not for the tears streaming down Kay’s cheeks, her trembling lips, and red eyes. After a moment, she brought a hand up and scrubbed at her face.

“Thank you,” she whispered. She rubbed her arms, her fingers drifting over the small crescent indents left by her nails.

Grayson shrugged and made a noncommittal grunt. “I get it.”

“Someone you know is missing?” Kay asked, turning towards him.

“Dead,” Grayson said. His own voice was gruff, his expression blank.

Kay frowned, then her eyes widened and she raised a hand to her lips. “Oh, that's right. Your business partner, right? I'm sorry.”

Grayson shook his head. “He is- was, my son. He didn't know.”

“Oh.” Kay looked down at the water. “I'm sorry.”

“Don't be. It wasn't your fault, it's the ghost that's doing this. The Fenton kid probably feels terrible,” Grayson said, voicing what many viewers had already been thinking. “If this ghost is after him…”

“You can't blame him!” Kay said, jerking away from the man.

“I don't,” Grayson answered quickly, holding up his hands. “He's just a kid. I kind of thought you would, though. You didn't really look happy when Leo… or the _thing_ was with the kid.”

“Leo is all I have,” Kay answered quietly. “Her father died last year. She's been really strong about it, but it's hard without him. He was buried in Amity, his mother lives there, but we- we couldn't be there. There… let's just say issues. We were supposed to see his grave for the first time. We’d probably be there today.”

Grayson shuffled awkwardly, making the water swish about. He scratched at his chin and looked away. He opened his mouth, but Kay cut him off.

“You don't need to apologize,” she said, repeating his earlier words with a sad smile. “It's the bad ghosts, right?”

“Right.” Grayson nodded and smiled wryly.

Kay looked back out to the horizon. It was a little darker now. “Leo wouldn't even be here if it weren't for Phantom… for Danny. I don't think we’ll get out of here without him either.”

Grayson nodded, and the silence between them resumed. This time, the peace wasn't an illusion.

...

The screen was black, but the voices were recognizable.

“I was right! I told you, didn't I?” Excitement bubbled on Rux’s words.

“Yeah, you did.” Unable to see the comforting smile Will usually wore when speaking with Aric, the viewers could easily hear the apprehension on his voice.

“This is a great story!”

“Rux… you know it's not like that, right?”

“Of course it is! There's mystery, secrets, big bad ghosts!”

“Rux…”

“It's going to be great!”

“...”

...

The darkness faded, revealing the inside of the plane. The trio was near the door.

The seat Danny occupied was reclined as far as it could go, which wasn't much. The leaves that had served as his bandages for the past day and a half were gone, replaced by strips of fabric. The flannel shirts and thin top coverings Danny had taken from the dead in the first video.

Tucker was sitting beside him, thumbing through an airplane magazine. The camera focuses on the page for a moment, revealing pictures of airline food that wouldn't have been served on Amity 117’s intended flight.

Behind Danny was Sam. She was crouching on her seat, knees pressed against the back of Danny’s, leaning over the headrest with her head cradled in her arms. Her shoulders gently rose and fell as she slept, one of her hands resting on Danny’s hair.

Rux and Will were nowhere to be seen.

Tucker was practically drooling over the open page, a look of longing in his eyes, when Danny shifted. The techno-geek went still, looking at his best friend. It had only been Danny’s shoulder that twitched, but now his finger was tapping a smooth rhythm on the armrest.

“Good evening, sleeping beauty,” Tucker did. He closed the magazine and let it drop to the floor. There really wasn't any point in putting it away properly anyways. “Enjoy your visit to the other side?”

“How long was I out?” Danny asked. His voice was hoarse, and he reached up to massage his throat as Tucker answered.

“An hour or two.”

“Then sorry to disappoint, Tuck, but no ‘other side’ visits for me. It takes a lot more than _Jon_ to kill me,” Danny said. His tone was light and jovial, but Tucker didn't appear to share his amusement.

“You could have fooled me.”

Danny lowered his hand to his chest, feeling the fresh cloth. “Oh.”

“Yeah, ‘oh’,” Tucker repeated. He leaned forwards. “Your wounds are serious, man.”

“It’s fine, Tucker. I've survived worse.”

Danny pointed to the diamond shaped scar on his chest, raising and eyebrow in Tucker's direction.

“You didn't recover from that!” Tucker hissed. He glanced at Sam, but the Goth was still sleeping. “It killed you!”

“I feel pretty alive,” Danny said. The smile hadn't slipped from his face once.

“Dude, I saw freaking _bone_. I don't know about you, but I don't want to find out if ghosts can lose limbs!”

“They can,” Danny answered immediately.

“Not helping!”

Danny rolled his eyes, carefully lifting Sam’s hand from his hair. He didn't let go when he set it down. “Tucker, relax, in fine, I mean it.”

Tucker paused, scrutinizing Danny. His eyes narrowed behind his glasses and he frowned. “Are you trying to do the voice thing with me? Your ghostly Jedi mind tricks?”

“No tricks, Tuck. But… we do have a huge problem, don't we?” Danny glanced out the window, towards the scattered Survivalists.

“Sort of?” Tucker said, shrugging. “Sam actually did a lot of the explaining already. She got really worked up too.”

The boys looked at the final member of their trio, sleeping soundly. Tucker’s gaze drifted down to her hand, the one Danny was still holding. He grinned.

Danny saw Tuck’s smile and immediately slipped his hand from Sam’s, shooting Tucker a glare.

“What now?” Tucker asked. He pressed a button on the armrest, and his own seat tipped backwards. He pulled his beret down over his eyes, and over his arm the other Survivalists could be seen shuffling towards the plane outside.

“Sleep,” Danny answered. He stood up, gently leaning Sam back, and pushed his seat into the upright position. He adjusted the Goth’s seat while she continued to doze. “Tomorrow we head to the stream you found. Then after that?”

Danny’s eyes flashed from sapphire to emerald.

“We find the others.”


	28. What the H***, Amity Park?

A loud, obnoxious jingle played, strikingly similar to a news station’s emergency alert theme. A middle-aged man smiled at the camera, his salt and pepper hair carefully gelled back, hands folded on the desk in front of him.

He spoke when the jingle stopped. “Welcome, ladies and gentlemen, to _Next Week Today_! I am your host, Ollie Johnson, and tonight, I’ve got one question.”

Ollie leaned forwards, his expression turning serious. “What the _hell_ , Amity Park?”

He slammed his palm on the table and leaned back in his seat. “Has anyone else been seeing this stuff? I mean, really, this is insane! If you don’t know what I’m talking about, just watch.”

Ollie turned to look at a screen behind him. A montage of shaky cellphone footage played. Shot through thin curtains, from amidst chanting crowds, and up above on the roofs of buildings, each video showed more or less the same thing. People protesting outside of Fenton Works, outside the mayor’s home and office, lined up on the street across from the GIW base, a line of spotless, white suited men holding them back. The crowds were shouting, screaming, chanting, throwing punches, destroying property, and threatening everyone around them.

When the videos stopped, Ollie became the focus again.

“All of this over one _kid?_ And if there’s anyone who has no idea what I’m talking about, you probably aren’t watching now anyways, because you’d have to be a hermit not to know. But just in case you’re just rejoining society after at _least_ three weeks of solitude, let me be the one to tell you, _please_.” As Ollie grinned, a picture of Danny Phantom appeared on the screen behind him. “The ghost boy, hero of Amity Park and, as some say, the world, isn’t just a ghost. Apparently he’s a human, too, _this_ human.”

A short clip featuring the tail end of Danny’s rant and revelation played.

“Remind me never to piss him off,” Ollie said when it finished. “But in all seriousness, I’ve got loads of questions. First off, aren’t his parents ectologists? Their job is literally _ghosts_. The field is so broad anything related to ghosts falls under it. Looking at footage from recent ‘Ghost Watch’ interviews—where they don’t even watch ghosts, so why is it called that?—they obviously didn’t know their son has been a ghost for the past _four years_. They have one job, how can they be _that bad_ at it?”

Ollie chuckled, but his expression quickly turned serious, knuckles turning white as he clasped his hands too hard. “Most of the protests going on in Amity Park right now are focused on Daniel and his humanity. There are the obvious sides, those that think he’s more ghost than human, and those that either think the opposite, or just don’t care because he’s so _good_. But there’s a smaller group within the first that is actually asking a really important question. Could the Fenton’s ignorance be feigned, and could experimentation be the reason for this boy’s state of being?”

“This is a pretty serious question to be asking, and it implies a lot, but it reminds us that ectology is a vastly unobserved and unrestrained field. What’s the moral black and white when you’re dealing with the dead? People go to jail for desecrating corpses, shouldn’t there be some kind of law protecting their spirits too? To answer any of these questions, most people would probably turn to the government. Laws _are_ sort of their thing. For ghost laws, you’d probably go to the GIW.”

A frozen image from the earlier montage appeared, showing the line of GIW agents standing stoically before the people of Amity Park. Ollie looked from the camera, to the picture, and back again a number of times, his head bobbing and an incredulous expression on his face, one eyebrow raised, a disbelieving smirk on his lips.

“They don’t look too friendly,” Ollie said. “Not to mention, this.”

…

 **Tiffany:** Were the Guys in White aware of the existence of halfas?

 **Agent A:**...

 **Tiffany:** Now that you are aware, what does this mean for Phantom, and the other alleged halfas?

 **Agent A:** Danny Phantom is a level eight entity and will be dealt with accordingly.

…

“I’m sorry,” Ollie said, his pitch rising and falling as he spoke with exaggeration, “but _that_ sounded like a government agent threatening to neutralize a _teenager_. Are these really the guys we want ‘protecting’ us from ghosts? The U.S. government didn’t even acknowledge the department existed a couple years ago. And if anyone doubts whether these agents would go through with this, what about this little incident?”

Ollie leaned back as a familiar news clip filled the screen.

…

The gate behind Lance started to open and three burly agents stepped through. Two of them grabbed Lance while the third headed towards the cameraman.

The cameraman started to run, Lance’s loud protests serving as a backdrop. The camera suddenly lurched forward, clattering to the ground, and landed so the picture was on its side. It revealed the person who had been holding the camera to be Wes Weston. His face was pressed into the pavement, the agent that had chased him kneeling on his back, handcuffing him.

The agent pulled a small ecto-pistol from inside his suit, and the screen went black after a bright green flash.

…

“ _Wow_ , I feel safe.” Ollie rapped his knuckles against the desk. “And does anyone know what happened to that kid?”

He looked around, his head swivelling from side to side, palms rising and beckoning unseen people to answer.

“No one? Great, so I’m not the only one worried about this. This government agency operates on a _completely_ different level. It’s like the CIA, _with ghosts_ and about ten times the secrecy. I mean, at least we know who directs the CIA, but unless Agent A is this guy’s real name…” Ollie trailed off, but his point had already been made.

“After what happened last summer in Las Vegas, I’m not so confident these are the people we can rely on. An entire agency couldn’t step in in time to save even one of hundreds of people, do we really think they can find the Survivalists?”

Ollie waited a moment, tapping his finger against his arm. “Apparently Amity Park doesn’t think so. GIW vehicles all across the city have been vandalized and sabotaged.

A picture of white van with a smoking engine appeared on the screen behind Ollie, the words “the Knights of Camelot,” spray painted rather stylishly onto its side.

“While no one has been harmed during these incidents yet, the perpetrators have yet to be caught, and I think it’s safe to assume things will only escalate from here,” Ollie said. “But I for one am looking forward to see what these ‘knights’ will do.”


	29. Confrontation

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Before you start reading, I wanted to say that I've started a blog focused on writing! You can find it at ravenwithapen.com, and I hope you'll check it out!

It was early in the morning, but most Survivalists were already starting to stir, cracking their eyes and grimacing at the golden light streaming through the windows. No one had bothered to rise from their seats yet, instead hunkering down and clinging to their last minutes of sleep. The trio was in the same seats as the last video, Tucker’s hat pulled over his eyes, and Sam curled on her side.

Danny was kneeling on his chair, arms folded on the headrest, watching Sam sleep. There was a tender expression on his face, lips curved into a soft smile, eyes half-lidded. Sam nuzzled the back of her seat, tucking her hands against her chest and drawing her legs closer. As she shifted, a few strands of hair fell from behind her ear. She sniffed as they tickled her nose.

Danny glanced around, and the camera scanned the plane from his point of view. Only now was the space between the trio and the others obvious. In the first videos, the three teens had set themselves apart from the others. That distance never quite closed, but the viewers could see how it was growing smaller each night. Now there were several rows between Danny and the others, the rest of the group crammed together in the seats closest to the door.

A couple of the people that had managed to blink away sleep briefly glanced back at Danny, then quickly looked forwards again.

The camera returned to a normal angle as Danny looked back to Sam. He leaned over his chair, reaching out, and tucked the loose strands back behind her ear.

“Danny?” Sam mumbled.

Danny froze, quickly drawing his hand back. “Yeah?” he asked.

“You’re awake?” She rubbed her eyes, twisting as she did and setting her feet down on the floor. She blinked a few times, yawned once, and dropped her chin on Danny’s arm. The halfa leaned back a little, but didn’t pull away.

“Since yesterday. You were already asleep, so I didn’t, you know…” Danny trailed off, rubbing the back of his neck with his free hand.

“Are you alright?” Sam asked. Her gaze drifted over Danny’s faces, pausing as she took in every bruise and scrape, all of them injuries from the first crash.

The viewers were amazed at how ignorant they had been thus far.

“I’ll be better once we get out of here and everyone is safe, but,” Danny shrugged, “yeah, I’m okay.”

“Good.” Sam nodded. “Then I can do this.”

She stood up, leaned over Danny’s seat, and slapped him. The halfa’s head jerked to the side, his eyes wide with shock, while Tucker jolted awake.

“I’m up, I’m up!” the techno-geek shouted, then he noticed Sam with her arm still outstretched, and Danny rubbing his cheek.

He hadn’t been the only one startled awake by the loud smack. The other Survivalists were looking back at the trio, most of them wearing similar expressions of surprise.

“You’re an idiot, Danny!” Sam hissed sharply. “You never should have shut it off, and if you die after all this, I’m going to be so mad at you!”

“I’d only be dead for, like, a week or so?” Danny said, though his voice rose at the end like he was asking a question.

“You idiot!” Sam hissed again. Then she grabbed Danny’s shoulders, pulled him forwards, and kissed him. The halfa’s eyes widened again, but after a moment they closed, and his flailing hands settled on Sam’s own shoulders. After nearly a minute, the two teens broke apart.

“Um, I- uh, you…” Danny babbled intelligently, his face flushed. His gaze jumped back and forth between Sam and the camera.

Sam glanced over Danny’s shoulder and a heavy blush blossomed across her cheeks as she noticed who was watching them. “J-just don’t die or anything, okay?”

Danny nodded, and Sam stood, the camera staying on her as she walked briskly down the aisle and left the plane. The view swivelled back to the two remaining members of the trio. Danny’s blush had faded some, but his cheeks were still a light pink, while Tucker was grinning at the other boy, waggling his eyebrows and winking.

“What?” Danny snapped, glaring at his best friend. Although the blushing took away from the anger.

“Looooooove-mpf!” Tucker’s teasing sing-song was cut off as his beret was swiftly stuffed in his mouth.

…

Lancer was lying on the forest floor, eyes closed. He looked flush, a sheen of sweat on his forehead, and his lips were cracked. The trees around him were so close together, there was no way the overweight teacher would have been able to squeeze through them.

The purple, teardrop ghost was leaning across one of the branches. “Are you almost dead?” he asked.

Lancer cracked one eye open and looked at the ghost. “Hardly.”

“Hmph.” the Purple Man crossed his arms, his wide mouth dipping into a disappointed scowl. He phased through the branch and drifted down. “You aren’t as much fun as I thought you would be. You haven’t done anything in days.”

“I can’t leave,” Lancer said, gesturing to the surrounding trees. “Trying to would be a wasted effort. But you would have killed me already if that’s what you wanted.”

The Purple Man’s scowl deepened, his black eyes glowing with a dark light. The normally childlike voice turned demonic. “I could kill you _now_.”

Two of his four arms reached out, pale green ectoplasm dripping from his fingers. Lancer’s eyes widened and he scrambled to push himself up, backing away until he was trying to force his way through the trees. The Purple Man floated closer, until a single drop of ectoplasm fell onto Lancer’s knee and burned him. Lancer squeezed his eyes shut, taking quick, shallow breaths and turning his head away.

“But I suppose we need you.” The Purple Man drew back, his eyes returning to normal, and Lancer blinked. He was shaking slightly and panting heavily, taking deep gulps of air to try and calm himself. “I thought I could use you, but he isn’t coming. They said I could have five days, today’s the sixth. I supposed my turn is over. Too bad.”

The camera stayed on Lancer as the Purple Man floated up to the treetops. Vines started snaking down the trees behind the English teacher, and he noticed them too late as they curled around his wrists and shoulders. Lancer tried ripping the vines off, but the most he could do was pull them slightly.

The grass grew and looped over his legs, digging into his skin and tugging him down. Lancer screamed as he was pulled into the ground, clawing at the dirt, trying his best to remain on the surface. His head was pulled under, and the screaming stopped. His one free hand snagged a large tree root, the muscles along his arm straining, until the root rotted in seconds, and Lancer’s finger slipped through the mulch. They disappeared underground in silence.

…

Danny was crouching in the sand, a long stick firmly in his grasp. He was either writing or drawing, though no one watching the video could tell which. Each stroke of the stick seemed to add to a larger image, but within it were clusters of odd symbols.

Whatever it was, most people assumed it had something to do with ghosts.

Danny leaned back and ran a hand through his hair, his gaze darting across the markings he had made, before a pair of dark skinned feet entered the frame. He looked up, and the camera followed his gaze, revealing Valerie.

“You shouldn’t be walking,” Danny mumbled. He stood up and kicked sand over his work, then turned.

“Wait,” Valerie said. She was glaring at Danny, but she sounded tense. Tugging on the frayed edges of her shirt, she didn’t speak again as Danny turned back around and gave her an expectant look. Her hands dropped to her sides and she stood up straight, tilting her head up. “We need to talk. In private.”

Danny’s gaze drifted down to her splintered leg. “Probably, but you’re not walking there.”

Before Valerie could protest, Danny looped an arm around her waist and under knees, then swept her off her feet. He carried her away from the plane, a few wandering eyes watching them go, and deposited Valerie safely on the ground at the edge of the forest. He stayed standing, leaning on a tree a couple feet away.

Valerie looked like she was pouting, her arms crossed, bottom lip stuck out, but her frown soon returned and there was a light in her eyes when she looked at the halfa. “You lied to me.”

Her words were a sharp hiss, and Danny flinched. He looked away, more focused on the sand than the girl beside him.

“You hurt me,” Valerie continued, the venom in her words pronounced. “Why should I, why should _any of us_ , believe this is true? Do you think it’s some sick joke? Is Fenton really dead and you’re just, I don’t know, _parading around_ as him, dating people as him? Dating me? You’re really messed up, Phantom, but this takes the cake.”

Valerie’s voice was strained, and it was obvious to everyone watching she didn’t believe what she was saying. That didn’t mean she wouldn’t be in Danny’s face, possibly hitting him, if standing weren’t such a struggle for her. As it was, her hands curled into fists in the sand and she flung that at him instead.

Danny didn’t move away. It almost looked like he shifted so the grains would hit him for sure. Valerie continued to throw sand, coating Danny’s hair, his shoes. Then she grabbed a small rock that struck him in the chest, and drew her arm back to throw an even bigger one.

“You remember Danielle?”

Valerie’s arm faltered.

Danny, still looking down, shook out his head and streams of sand fell. He peered at Valerie through his bangs, then quickly looked away.

“Danielle is different,” Valerie said. Her voice was strained now, insistent. “She wasn’t just a ghost, she was…”

“Human,” Danny finished softly. “Danielle’s special, but did you really think she and Vlad were the only ones? The evidence was right there.”

Valerie’s hands dropped into the lap and her knuckles turned white as her grip tightened on the rock. “Not for someone who really cared about you. And I did care about you, Danny, and you... you _attacked_ me!”

“I never wanted to!” Danny snapped, his eyes flaring green. He closed them briefly and took a deep breath. When he opened them, they were blue again. “I never attacked you first, I never hurt you, I never _gave you scars._ ”

Valerie’s gaze fell from his once again and her throat bobbed. “That whole time we were going out, you could have told me. From the very beginning, you could have explained things. It didn’t have to be the way it was!”

“Really?” Danny tilted his head up, revealing his frown. “After Cujo, you wanted to kill me, Phantom. What would you have done, if I walked up to you during school, told you I was the ghost you thought ruined your life? How long would it have taken you to pull out your ectogun and shoot me right there? You were a different person then, Valerie.”

“You ruined my life,” Valerie said, her voice shaking.

“A dog ruined your life, a dead dog that just wanted his toy back. I can’t really say your life wouldn’t be better if Cujo and I hadn’t been there. But do you honestly regret it? Becoming the Red Hunter?”

Valerie stilled, and so did many of the people watching. While the Red Hunter wasn’t as well known a figure as Danny Phantom, the masked girl had made a name for herself with her high-tech weaponry, recognizable colours, and undeniable skill.

Two identities revealed in two videos. The viewers could only imagine what other secrets the Survivalists had, though they doubted any others would be as scintillating.

“Do you ever regret becoming Danny Phantom?” Valerie countered.

Danny smirked and raised his injured arm, scrutinizing the makeshift bandages. “Sometimes. But even then, if I could go back, I wouldn’t change a thing.”

Valerie nodded slowly. “Yeah.”

There was a moment of silence between them. Neither one looked content to be in the other’s company, but they weren’t as tense as before either.

“You ready to apologize?” Danny asked. He spoke like he was talking to a misbehaving child.

“Excuse me?” Valerie’s glare returned.

Danny gestured to his scarred torso, one hand drifting over an old burn on his side. “You think all of these are from Skulker? That guy’s aim is terrible.”

Valerie bit her lip. It looked like she was battling with herself, guilt flashing in her eyes, then she sighed. “No. It wasn’t right, but we were enemies. Considering you’re the only one with any marks to show for it, I think that makes me the winner.”

“No way. You got a splinter one time, remember?”

“Oh, shut up,” Valerie snapped, crossing her arms.

Danny grinned and pushed away from the tree. “I don’t really have a solid plan, but we’re heading out soon. You ready?”

Valerie nodded. But as Danny started walking away, she reached forwards and hooked her finger on the heel of his shoe. “Danny, wait.”

The halfa glanced back over his shoulder.

Valerie wouldn’t meet his gaze. One of her cheeks was puffed out and she was blushing slightly. “Could you… help me get back to the plane? My leg kind of really hurts right now.”

Danny’s grin widened.

“But no bridal style! I still have one good foot to kick you with, remember that,” Valerie said, pointing threateningly at him.

Danny held up his hands in surrender. “Wouldn’t dream of it.”

…

The trio stood together, a collection of bags stacked behind them. Sam examined the ectogun in her hands, pulling the pieces apart and slapping them together again. Tucker was staring down at his PDA, a small wire linking it to a device covered in segmented, dark blue panels in his other hand, which was stretched high above his head. Danny kicked at the sand underfoot, a sizeable gouge cutting through the pale grains. His hands were shoved into his pockets, his lips moving quickly, but the camera wasn’t picking up his words.

The angle changed, the camera now hovering above the hull of the downed plane. The other Survivalists were bunched together several yards from the trio, the social divides between them less prominent. It wasn’t nerds, jocks, and outcasts anymore. It was them, and _Danny_.

Even Grayson, Kay, and the students who supported Danny were staying away. The viewers couldn’t entirely blame them. Danny Phantom was a hero, but he was also powerful, and mysterious, and a _ghost_. They were apprehensive just watching him.

The camera drifted down, settling just above the Survivalist’s heads, as Tucker lowered his raised arm. He said something to Danny, then he and Sam walked forwards while the halfa hung back.

“Everybody, shut up and listen up!” Sam shouted. “Tucker’s group found a stream down the beach a little way, and we need fresh water, so we’re moving there. By Danny, there’s a pile of backpacks and smaller bags, one for each of us. Take one, and pack only what’s important from your carry-on. Got it, _Paulina_?”

“Whatever.” The Latina scoffed.

“We’ll walk in the trees on the way there,” Tucker continued, still staring down at his PDA. “Stay within twenty feet of the treeline, and if you find any food, tell the group. We should probably collect some while we can. And, uh, yeah, I think that’s it?”

Sam and Tucker glanced over their shoulders at Danny. His eyes jumped to them, then the forest, before he nodded.

“Cool, that’s it. So…” Tucker’s voice trailed off and he shrugged.

“So hurry up and get moving!” Sam demanded.

No one moved.

Tucker rolled his eyes while Sam glared, and after a moment a soft huff emanated from the throng, and Marie pushed her way through. She dragged her feet as she walked across the beach, hugging herself, but she smiled at Danny when she reached him and stooped down to grab a pale blue bag.

“I wish none of us were here,” Marie mumbled, meeting Danny’s gaze, “but I’m glad _you’re_ here.”

Danny smiled back. “Thanks.”

Kay moved forwards next, followed by Grayson, and Mikey, until Paulina walked by. She picked up a puke green backpack, pinching its single shoulder strap between her fingers, lip curling in disgust. Her gaze flickered to Danny.

“You may be cool or whatever, but you’re still a loser,” she hissed, although her words didn’t carry their normal edge.

“I know,” Danny answered.

Paulina blinked, scowled, and spun around, tossing her hair over her shoulder.

There were three backpacks left when Valerie hobbled forwards: Danny’s memorable Fenton bag, a purple spider backpack, and a white satchel with a red cross drawn on top.

“Okay. Math isn’t my best subject, but I’m pretty sure we’re one backpack short,” Valerie said. “Unless you think it’s too much for a girl with a broken leg?”

Danny grabbed the white satchel. “Nope. I saved this one just for you.” He pushed the bag forwards, and Valerie opened the flap as she took it.

Inside was all the medicine gathered from the plane and luggage, plus a few empty water bottles. “Really? You’re giving the injured girl the first aid kit?”

“I have the first aid kit.” Danny nudged his own backpack with his toe. “You have medicine that is totally useless to you.”

Valerie’s mouth twisted and she narrowed her eyes. “I hate you sometimes.” She slipped the strap over her shoulder before hobbling away again.

“Okay, two questions.” Tucker held up fingers and pointed them at Danny. “Is Paulina broken, and what was that with Valerie?”

“I think we’re friends now,” Danny mused. He scratched his chin, brow furrowing. “Or at least we aren’t enemies. And Paulina is the same as always.”

“Paulina is, like, you’re biggest fangirl. She should be drooling over you right now,” Tucker said. He crossed his arms, levelling and unmistakable “are you serious?” look at Danny.

“I’m glad she’s not. I would just be kind of… weird if she was. Plus Sam would kill her.” Danny pointed his thumb over his shoulder at the Goth, who was once again toying with the ecto-pistol.

She looked up and narrowed her eyes. “I’d kill you too.”

“What? Why?” Danny shouted, spinning around. He looked betrayed, eyes wide and pleading, hands reaching out for an explanation, but there was also a flicker of a smile on his lips.

“Because you’d enjoy it,” Sam said, smirking back.

“You killing him? Kinky.” Tucker chuckled, dancing away from punches thrown by both Sam and Danny. “But seriously, that whole thing with Valerie? I for sure thought she’d kill you when she learned the truth.”

Danny glanced after the injured girl and sighed. His head dropped and he ran a hand through his hair. “She probably would have if she could catch me, but we just talked. I wouldn’t say we’re alright yet, though.”

“You seemed pretty alright,” Tucker pointed out.

“I seem like a lot of things, Tuck. I seem alive, don’t I?” Danny snapped.

Tucker’s mouth twisted and he looked away, shuffling his feet.

Danny sighed again. “Sorry, guys, it’s just, all these emotions.” He swatted at the air in front of his face, and for a moment it looked like bright coloured tendrils were waving back at him, but then it was gone. Either a trick of the video, or some glimpse of what Danny really saw courtesy of the ghost doing all this. “Right now, it’s just easier to pretend we’re alright. Think something long enough and it becomes the truth, right?”

“No, Danny, it doesn’t.” Sam’s voice was soft and she gently touched his shoulder. Her whole demeanor, reassuring but sad, spoke of double meanings and secrets that needed no words. Too bad for the viewers, who were itching to know what she meant by her statement.

Danny shouldered his backpack, forcing Sam’s hand away. “We should get going, use as much daylight as we have.”

As he walked away, Sam and Tucker exchanged worried glances.

…

The sun shone brightly, and Dylan stared towards it, shading his eyes with his hand. He frowned, tilting his head one way, then the other, and then glanced back over his shoulder. He, Casey, and Jon were walking along the edge of the treeline, the other Survivalists spread out farther in. Three bobbing heads of black hair weaved between the trees at the very front of the group.

“I think we’re on the equator,” Dylan said, breaking the silence.

Jon’s gaze flicked towards the overweight boy, then back down. “What makes you say that?”

“The sun. It’s been following a straight path ever since we got here. A perfect path, I think. That only happens on the equator, doesn’t it?” Dylan glanced at Jon, who shrugged, then Casey.

“I don’t know,” she said. “Maybe? But I don’t think—”

“It doesn’t,” Mikey interrupted her. He had been closest to them when Dylan spoke, slowly drifting closer in the background until he was walking a couple feet parallel to them. “On the equator, the sun rises and sets at true East and West, but it still follows an arc through the sky, except maybe during the equinox. And that doesn’t last for six days.”

“Maybe we’re stuck in some kind of time loop,” Dylan mumbled. “We don’t reset, but the day does?”

“It’s May,” Mikey commented. “The equinox is in March.”

“Oh.” Dylan’s shoulders fell, his face squeezing tight as he thought hard. “Maybe that’s not really the sun…”

“You could bring it up to Danny, maybe he knows,” Mikey suggested. It was an innocent, accompanied by a shrug and a smile, but Dylan vehemently disagreed with the idea.

“No!” he shouted, his voice echoing like a gunshot in the quiet forest. A few heads turned towards them, and Dylan quickly hid his face and lowered his voice. “For all we know, this could be Danny’s doing. He could be leading us into a trap, for revenge or something.”

“Revenge?” Jon scoffed. “He hardly seems like the type.”

“Because you still don’t think he’s capable, right?” Dylan glared over his shoulder. “You should watch more. Danny gets back at Dash all the time at school. Messing with his locker, pranking him? And that’s for insults and punches, which now we know Danny can take pretty easily. But if Sam’s right, you almost _killed him_ , and ghosts don’t like it when you mess with tier existence. Maybe he wanted to get back at Dash first, he’s one of the missing students. How many of those thirty-one do you think were mean to him? Or are Phantom haters?”

Dylan was rambling, his voice low and fevered. His eyes darted about, as if he expected Danny to pop through the trees and attack him.

“Dash has a bigger crush on Phantom than Paulina.” Jon rolled his eye.

“That’s kind of true,” Mikey added meekly. “Have you seen his locker?”

“But he _hates_ Fenton!” Dylan insisted.

“I don’t think this is a good idea,” Casey whispered. “Remember what Sam said? Your emotions could be affecting Danny.”

“I don’t care about my emotions, I care about my life!”

“Do you care that Danny can hear everything you’re saying?”

Dylan screamed as Sam stepped into his path from a blind spot, and he stumbled back into Jon, who quickly shoved him upright. Dylan’s hands shook a he looked towards the very front of the group. Danny had stopped walking, his shoulder stiff, head tilted down and turned slightly in their direction. Dylan caught a glimpse of bright green eyes and swallowed thickly.

“Y-you don’t scare me,” he muttered. Danny slowly shook his head and started forwards again.

Sam glared at Dylan moment longer, jabbing him in the chest with one finger. “Maybe he isn’t trying to scare you,” she hissed snidely. “Maybe he’s just trying to keep your ungrateful ass alive.”

She spun around on her heels and marched away, her hand finding its way into Danny’s as she rejoined him and Tucker. “Don’t listen to them.”

“It’s hard not to when they’re practically shoving their emotions in my face. It makes everything louder.” Danny squeezed his eyes shut, and the camera zoomed into his face. When he opened them, it spun around, and the viewers could see the world as Danny saw it.

The colours were brighter, there were less shadows but there was also a crystalline quality to everything. It was like looking through a window with fine cracks. You could see everything just fine, but it was skewed and just fundamentally _wrong_.

Tendrils of colour hung at the edges of the screen, and the camera pulled back and turned around so it was facing the Survivalists. The strands of emotion weren’t all the same. Some were thick, or wide and flat, while others glistened like spider silk. They all converged on Danny, snaking around his arms and chest. A thin black string coiled around his throat.

From the Survivalists, the emotions given form poured from their eyes, pale, ghostly wisps that grew opaquer and more tangible the closer they got to Danny. Even though everything was brightly lit, it was terrifying to see.

Danny let go of Sam’s hand and rolled his wrist. For a moment, it looked like he was trying to crack it, until the viewers noticed the bright red string he was twining around his arm. It faded into near invisibility by Sam’s deep purple irises.

Sam quirked an eyebrow at him.

“Just trust me,” Danny said, taking her wrist.

“I always do,” Sam murmured, watching as Danny. The camera showed her perspective for a couple seconds, and how to her and everyone else, it just looked like Danny was waving his hand around hers.

“So what was that?” Sam asked when he stopped. The red string was now wrapped around both their wrists, the strands sparking as they brushed when Danny took her hand again, then the strands of emotion faded completely

“It helps,” Danny said.

“But what was it?” she pressed.

“Let’s just say ghosts know why it’s called the red string of fate.” Danny grinned.

“Oh my god.” Sam buried her face in her free hand, but between her splayed fingers she was blushing and smiling like an idiot.

“One kiss later, and you’re already sickening,” Tucker said. He started making gagging noises, clutching his stomach and hunching over. “Just leave me behind, I won’t make it.”

“Okay.” Sam dragged Danny forwards, away from Tucker, who immediately protested.

“Hey! Don’t you have a ‘no man left behind’ policy or something?” Tucker asked as he jogged to catch up with them. “It should be ingrained in your hero DNA.”

“I don’t have hero DNA.” Danny rolled his eyes. “And I was respecting your final wishes.”

“Next time, don’t,” he grumbled, making them laugh.

Danny cut off suddenly, glancing sideways at something in the trees. He didn’t tense up or prepare to attack, but his eyes narrowed. “Twenty feet, Rux!”

The rusty blonde’s head popped into view from behind a coniferous tree decidedly more than twenty feet from the treeline.

“Sure thing, kid!” Rux shouted, loping back towards the group with Will next to her.

“I said you’d get caught,” Will said. He was tracing something on his palm, fingers pinched as if he were holding a pencil.

“So did I. I wanted to know how long it would take for the kid to notice.” Rux stuck out her tongue as she tromped through a bush. The sharp thorns left thin red lines on her legs, but she didn’t seem to mind. Will skirting around the same bush, eying the fresh injuries with concern.

“But did you see?” Rux babbled on. “They were holding hands, I knew they would get together. If I were writing this, I think I’d put that quiet girl with the jock, or the redhead nerd. But Jon stays alone, he’s an ass.”

“Rux.” Will’s tone was chiding. “Be sympathetic to your villains, remember?”

“Yes, will.” Rux’s response was sarcastic and mocking, but she turned around with a grin. “It’s just really great, isn’t it? I’ve never read anything like this.”

“You aren’t reading, Rux.” Will grabbed her by the shoulder, and Rux paused, a cursory frown on her lips, then a few times. Her dilated pupils returned to a normal size.

“Of course I know that, don’t be silly,” she said, taking Will’s hand off her shoulder and squeezing it for a second. “Almost as good as the girlfriend’s, right? Now come on, I want to see how far I can get before the kid notices.”

Will made a noise, a cross between a sigh and a whimper. Dipping a hand into the small knapsack he carried, he pulled out an opaque orange bottle and rolled it in his palm. A dirty white prescription label glared up at the camera, Ruxandera Wilson written in bolded letters. He gave the bottle a quick shake, and a single pill rattled around inside.

…

In the next scene, the sun was halfway to the horizon. Everyone was walking closer to the treeline, a few of the Survivalists picking berries out of their cupped hands and popping them in their mouths. Valerie, Andy, and the others that had been left behind during the first expedition away from the plane at with abandon, dark juices staining their lips and fingers.

“I think we should have been there already,” Tucker said as the camera cut to the trio.

“How long did you walk back to the plane last time?” Sam asked. Danny was a couple paces ahead of them, running his hands through his hair. His brows were furrowed in a slight scowl, his gaze darting across the beach.

“I can’t remember,” Tucker answered. His PDA was in hand, and he was running a thumb over the dark screen.

“Did the solar panel break?”

“What?” Tucker shook his head. “No, it’s fine, I charged it this morning. I just… I feel fuzzy.”

“Fuzzy?” Sam tapped her chin, then nodded. “No, I get it. I feel that too.”

Danny froze mid-step. His foot slammed down, spraying up sand, and he was suddenly in front of Sam and Tucker, a hand on each of their shoulders. “What did you say?”

“Uh, we feel fuzzy,” Tucker said. He blinked several times, his eyes going in and out of focus. “Wh-what’s up, dude?”

“Who feels weird?” Danny shouted over their heads, making the other Survivalists halt. He was answered with hesitant nods and low murmurs. Danny stepped away from them, shaking his head. The edges of the screen started to blur as the camera focused on him.

“Danny?” Sam stepped forwards, and Danny immediately retreated.

“No, I need distance. Whatever’s affecting you guys, the emotions, it’s getting me too.” He gripped his hair and stumbled farther onto the beach, blinking quickly. The camera zoomed in on his widened eyes, where green crescents flickered amongst the blue, and pupils constricted and dilated rapidly. Danny jerked upright, hands fisting at his sides, and shouted towards the forest. “Get out of their heads!”

An eerie, echoing laugh drifted from the trees. It sent chills down the spines of everyone watching, but even more so was the way the other Survivalists were just standing there, as still as the flora surrounding them, staring forwards and seeing nothing.

The camera drifted amongst them, showing their slack expression and wide eyes. Their emotions became visible again, but every strand or band of feeling was a dull grey, stretching taught through the trees and latching onto Danny. The viewers could see him struggling against their pull, but they were relentless. He dropped to his knees.

“You could always cut them.” The taunting voice of the Purple Ghost echoed from everywhere. The viewers could have sworn the devious creature was in the room with them.

Danny jerked against the strands of emotion once more. “Never.”

A lavender figure floated through the trees, it’s arms dangling towards the emotions, outstretched fingers disturbing the taut lines. But no matter how much the Purple Ghost touched them, the grey ribbons never coiled around his own body. He grinned, pulling his arms back. Dark ectoplasm started gathering on one of his palms, and he turned slowly back towards the trees.

Danny’s eyes widened and his arms whipped forwards. He gathered a number of strands in his fists, pulling hard, and shouted, “Don’t touch them!”

With a sickening, squelching _rip_ the strands in Danny’s hand snapped and one of the figures in the trees collapsed.

The Purple Ghost disappeared, and the camera swiveled to show him hovering behind Danny, the black energy pressed against the halfa’s back.

“I won’t,” the ghost whispered, then the ectoplasm exploded and the screen went dark.


	30. Guilty

A row of Guys in White agents stood in front of the gate, a crowd of citizens pushing up against a cement barricade. The camera angle shifted, so only the backs of the crowd were visible, and Tiffany Snow sidled into view, tugging her blazer and fixing her hair. She raised a hand to her ear, and her eyes widened. “Oh, we’re live?”

A bright smile spread across her face, and the camera shifted so she was in the middle of the screen. “Hi! I’m Tiffany Snow, filling in for Lance Thunder. Yesterday, another video on the Survivalists was released, with a disturbing ending. Both Edward Lancer and Daniel Fenton are presumed dead, while the statuses of the remaining Survivalists are unknown.”

Tiffany started walking along the back of the crowd, the camera following her. “Yesterday evening Guys in White director, Agent A, declared the agency would be releasing a statement today. Prior details have not been released, but many believe the GIW have made a breakthrough regarding the whereabouts of the missing passengers.”

She stopped walking when a very distinctive family joined her on screen. Jack Fenton, in his dayglow orange jumpsuit, could have filled the whole screen if he were standing parallel to the camera. But he was angled away, only a fraction of his face visible. The downturned corner of his mouth, his eyebrows drawn together, the crinkle under his eyes as he frowned. He looked angry, not like someone who may have just lost his son.

Maddie and Jazz were looking to the camera, the older woman with tears swimming in her eyes, while Jazz mimicked her father’s anger

“Here with me are the Fentons, who have agreed to share their thoughts despite the tragedy.”

“There hasn’t been a tragedy,” Jazz snapped, jerking Tiffany’s microphone towards her. “My brother has dealt with enemies much worse than this one, and he always makes it out. The ghosts responsible just want to scare us.”

“Oh.” Tiffany blinked, bringing the microphone back to her. “What makes you say that?”

“It’s psychology. They’re treating this whole thing like a story, and when people make stories, they use dramatic endings to keep people interested. They’re always safe in the end, but you can’t help thinking ‘what if they aren’t?’ These ghosts want attention, and we’re giving it to them.”

Tiffany frowned. “So, you think we shouldn’t pay attention?”

Jazz shook her head. “No. Whether we actually watch or not, they aren’t going to change what they’re doing. While there are some misconceptions about ghosts and their habits, it is true that they can’t stop until they achieve their goals. It’s part of the ‘unfinished business’ theorem,” she explained.

“Um, right.” Tiffany turned to Maddie. “Madeline, you were released from jail earlier today when your assault was ruled as self-defence. What was your reaction when you heard the news?”

“ _Which_ news?” Maddie asked, her tone scathing. She wiped her tears away with her thumb. “That my son might be dead? That the GIW haven’t done anything to find him and the others? Or that _you_ think it’s okay to question a mother who might be mourning?”

Tiffany stammered and sputtered as she tried to defend herself, her gaze flicking from the enraged Maddie, to the camera. “A-and you, Jack?”

Jack only turned slightly, glancing into the camera, then looking forwards again. “My son is not a ghost,” he growled.

All three women looked at him with shock and worry, and Jazz stepped towards Tiffany.

“I think you should go,” the redhead said, pushing Tiffany and the camera away.

“Yes, of course,” Tiffany said, backpedaling away from the family. The crowd behind her started moving, and the camera focused on the gate in front of them. It was starting to slide open. A single agent walked through, mounting a platform obscured by the crowd. He stood with his hands folded behind his back, dark sunglasses obscuring his eyes.

Agent A waited until the chatter and activity ceased before speaking. “There are terrorists among us.”

He didn’t have a microphone, but his loud voice easily carried over the crowd. “Eight months ago, the United States was met with tragedy at the hands of a ghost, when a hotel in Las Vegas was destroyed, and all the people inside killed. And now it’s happening again, as a vicious, ectoplasmic being toys with our hearts and minds, and forces us to watch as they kill off the passengers of Amity flight 117 one by one in an unknown location.”

Agent A paused, and Tiffany glanced towards the camera, a nervous frown on her lips.

“I have come before you today to confirm the identity of the ghost responsible.”

Murmurs broke out amongst the crowd.

“Our investigation of the events from last July, and the circumstances surrounding the disappearance of the so-called ‘Survivalists,’ have produced irrefutable evidence. A unique ectoplasmic signature belonging to Danny Phantom.”

The reactions were divided. Many people shouted in protest, jeering at the agent and hurling insults, while others cheered. The camera panned over the crowd, catching a mix of enraged and triumphant faces. Maddie and Jazz Fenton were amongst the loudest of the protesters, and the news camera managed to catch a moment were Maddie reached for an ectogun on her hip, and Jazz grabbed her wrist to stop her.

Jack Fenton was uncharacteristically still.

“This dangerous, rogue entity has poisoned the minds of our citizens. Those calling themselves the Knights of Camelot have fallen victim to his influence. Rest assured, the Guys in White are doing their best efforts to detain and free these confused individuals from Phantom’s hold. We can no longer allow this threat to roam free. Should Danny Phantom return to the United States, he will be met with the full force of the Guys in White.”

The shouting drowned out Agent A’s next words, and he stepped down from the platform. The row of agents marched forwards with neutral expressions while A retreated behind the safety of the gate. They forced the crowd back as Tiffany turned back to the camera.

She had a somber expression, her lips pressed into a tight line. She gave her head a small shake and made a cutting motion against her throat as the broadcast ended.


	31. Declaration of War

Jazz Fenton sat in front of the camera, her hands folded on her desk, posture rigid. She was in a bedroom where everything was either blue or purple. There were model rockets on the bookshelf behind her, and NASA posters on the walls. She took a deep breath before she started speaking.

“My name is Jasmine Fenton, but everyone calls me Jazz. My brother, Danny, is one of the Survivalists, and our own local hero, Danny Phantom.” Jazz’s lip started trembling. “At the moment, everyone thinks he’s dead, but I know he isn’t. I’ve known my brother was a ghost since his freshman year. I’ve seen him take on ghosts bigger and stronger than him, and he always comes out on top. Danny Fenton, like any ghost, does not stop when faced with a challenge.”

Jazz stood and took off her sweater, revealing the teal jumpsuit beneath. She slammed her palms down. “I was instructed to post the video you’re about to see online. I was promised there would be no risk of myself being exposed as involved, but I don’t care anymore. Maybe this will be the last time you see me, maybe it won’t. Either way, this is a message to the Guys in White.”

Pulling a pair of red goggles down over her eyes, Jazz leaned forwards, the tinted lenses glinting menacingly in the pale light. “You mess with my brother, it won’t just be ghosts you’re dealing with.”

...

The view changed immediately. From a steady webcam, to something dark and grainy. The size of the frame hinted that it was a phone. Something shifted in the dark, and a face came into view. It was the boy that recorded the protesters outside Fenton Works, the one that hated Danny Fenton. He was frowning at the camera, lips pursed, the corner of his eye twitching.

“Damn it, so apparently this is a thing now.” He glanced away, the camera tilting back as he lowered his hand. A strip of dark sky appeared at the top of the screen, sparsely dotted with stars, and framed by sharp shadows. The boy was in an alley.

He glanced at the screen again, and leaned forwards. The video shook and he muttered a few curses before scooting backwards. With the phone propped against some unseen object, the boy’s upper body and the tops of his knees were now visible as he sat cross-legged on the ground.

“I don’t even know why I’m doing this,” the boy huffed. “I just wanted to have some fun.”

He tugged on the collar of his shirt, his tattoo flashing for the camera, and scratched his head.

“Just get on with it, Father!” A voice called from off screen.

“I told you to stop calling me that!” the boy snapped.

“Sorry, Mr. Your,” the voice said with a teasing lilt.

The boy rolled his eyes. “It’s Ricky. Want me to do this, or not?”

There was a moment of silence, then Ricky focused on the camera again. “Okay. So when all this stuff went down, the plane disappearing, the first video, whatever, I found this chatroom. Amity 1-1-7, maybe you’ve heard of it. But beware the internet, because now everyone on there is a terrorist. And I guess once this video goes up, I will be too.”

Ricky shook his head, his hair falling in front of his eyes. There was a manic look about him. He was constantly moving, tapping his knee, bouncing his leg, running a hand through his hair.

“Here’s what we know. It’s been two days since the last video, twenty-four since the first, and the Guys in White have done fu-”

“No swearing in the castle!” The voice from before shouted.

“Uh, fudge all. The Guys in White are doing fudge all. Actually, no. It’s just like Las Vegas. They are controlling _everything_. Internet, TV, phone calls. Any mention of the Survivalists, and everything stops. But we’ve got some massive techies on our side, so nothing can get in the way of you seeing this video.” Ricky’s head dipped and he groaned, his voice shaking. “And it is _our_ side, isn’t it? Damn it. But, okay, we know the GIW are useless, we know Danny Fenton is the freaking ghost boy, we know the Fentons are _pissed_ , I mean... wow.”

He shook his head.

“Lance and Wes are still being detained, and the GIW just declared war on Danny Phantom.” Ricky started to rise, his torso leaving the frame, and he moved to take a step forward, but his foot was halted in its path and he ended up crashing down, his chin smacking against the concrete inches away from the phone.

“What the hell?!” Ricky shouted, immediately breaking the tension that had slowly been building. He sat up, his leg blocking most of screen, and swung around. His shoes came into view, and the laces were tied together. “That was gonna be so cool, and you ruined it!”

An unmistakably young and echoing laugh came from somewhere off screen.

“Pirates don’t prank people, you stupid kid!” Ricky continued to shout, and someone else pick up the phone. The device was set down, and the camera flipped around to reveal a girl in a skin tight, dark grey body suit. It covered her from head to toe, neon green lines decorating her chest, shoulders, and outlining her hidden facial features. Her wide smile was reduced to a single line, but it still looked mischievous. She reached up and tightened her ponytail, prodding the viridescent crown through which it was pulled.

“I am King Arthur,” the girl declared. “And these are the Knights of Camelot.”

She waved her arms with a dramatic flair, gesturing to a group of people standing behind her, dressed in a similar fashion. They drew closer to King Arthur, and a glowing figure appeared over her shoulder. Technus, although he lacked his signature mullet and was wearing a grey trench coat rather than his cape. A younger girl stepped into view on Arthur’s other side, one who looked very much like Danny Fenton, with dark hair and piercing blue eyes. A crackling ring of energy formed around her waist, splitting apart and transforming her into Elle Phantom.

“Consider this our counter declaration,” King Arthur said. “We know who you are, we know what you’ve done, and your judgement day is coming.”


End file.
